{"id":11203,"date":"2022-02-14T20:31:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T19:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1578368"},"modified":"2022-02-14T20:57:10","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T19:57:10","slug":"emmerdales-paige-sandhu-on-meenas-revenge-and-why-nothing-will-stop-soaps-sassiest-serial-killer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/emmerdales-paige-sandhu-on-meenas-revenge-and-why-nothing-will-stop-soaps-sassiest-serial-killer\/","title":{"rendered":"Emmerdale\u2019s Paige Sandhu on Meena\u2019s revenge and why nothing will stop soap\u2019s sassiest serial killer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Johnathon Hughes\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 14 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Soap serial killers come and go, but there\u2019s never been one quite like\u00a0Emmerdale<\/a>\u2018s Meena Jutla. The nasty nurse has devastated the close-knit community with her spree of slays (three and counting, with at least one more off screen), but a delicious dose of dark humour and dangerous glamour has added a gloriously gothic edge to the proceedings. Crucially, Paige Sandhu\u2019s disturbing performance, ensuring Meena commits every kill with a sinister smile, has made the character utterly compelling and fans have lapped it up.<\/p>\n

This week her reign of terror reaches a creepy climax as spurned Meena kidnaps newly-weds Billy Fletcher and Dawn Taylor on their wedding day, and prepares to execute her final revenge on the couple she blames for breaking her heart. Talk about a woman scorned\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cBilly dumped Meena for Dawn, and Meena can\u2019t let them get away with it,\u201d explains Sandhu, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a>. \u201cIt feels like a slight on her. And they\u2019re getting married on Valentine\u2019s Day, of all days!\u201d Mad Meena escaped the village weeks ago when her crimes were exposed, so why has she returned and risked getting caught? \u201cIf it\u2019s a choice between staying on the run and getting away with everything, or coming back to spoil Billy and Dawn living happily ever after but possibly going to prison, then Meena will choose revenge \u2013 that\u2019s who she is!\u201d<\/p>

We\u2019ve already seen the barmy bad girl stage elaborate hostage scenarios to scare her victims: Manpreet Sharma was tied to a bed with a gag stuffed in her mouth, then locked in a barn with Vinny Dingle while Meena cranked up the ignition on a van and flooded the air with deadly exhaust fumes. We\u2019re almost afraid to ask, but what does she have in store for the abducted bride and groom?<\/p>\n

\u201cShe takes them to a remote viaduct and hands Billy a gun, telling him to choose whether him or Dawn should live. Meena wants to cause the maximum amount of suffering possible, to simply kill them both outright is not satisfying as it\u2019s over too quickly. She wants to drag out the torment and punish them for the hurt she believes they caused her by their actions.<\/p>\n

Sandhu admits there are shades of Killing Eve<\/a>\u2019s homicidal heroine Villanelle in her alter ego, and channelling Jodie Comer\u2019s iconic creation was always Emmerdale\u2019s intention with the character. \u201cVillanelle was the inspiration for Meena but I didn\u2019t know that when I auditioned,\u201d continues Sandhu, who made her first appearance as the estranged kid sister of local GP Manpreet in September 2020. \u201cI didn\u2019t even realise she was going to kill anybody! In the audition scene she was funny, outrageous and blunt, quite selfish and sassy like a sarcastic teenager. I loved that about her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got the part and they told me she was a serial killer and cited the Killing Eve reference, and it all began to make sense. I\u2019d already started building the character so then I could draw on the likes of Villanelle, Bellatrix Lestrange, Hannibal Lector, Joe Goldberg from You<\/a>. It was a very organic process in terms of how the character and story evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emmerdale Meena\u2019s revenge week<\/a>: your day-by-day guide to all the drama<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
\u201cWhen Manpreet was bound and gagged in the bedroom, there was a scene where Meena kisses her on the mouth to freak her out. The kiss wasn\u2019t scripted but when I was reading the scene at home I just felt it was the kind of weird thing Meena would do in that moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI messaged Rebecca (Sarker, aka Manpreet) to ask what she thought and if she\u2019d be OK with it, and she loved the idea. On the day we spoke to the director and we were worried it might be too much, especially for the 7pm timeslot. In the end we went for it and it worked!<\/p>\n
$\""Emmerdale"\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
ITV<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIn the scene Meena is telling Manpreet all about her killings, Manpreet is crying and shaking with fear, Rebecca was amazing, and Meena is laughing wildly then gives her this kiss out of nowhere. It wasn\u2019t incestuous, it was Meena getting the power back from her victim and wanting to disgust them. Just the kind of weird, strange and funny behaviour you\u2019d expect! I loved that scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conversely, Sandhu admits pushing for increasingly daring ways for Meena to make mayhem led to a particularly shocking twist that was the only time she felt concerned the storyline had gone too far. \u201cI mean every time I read a script I\u2019m thinking: \u2018She does what<\/em>?!\u201d she laughs. \u201cBut the one point I felt a little uncomfortable with was when she took a drunk Liam to her bedroom with the intention of getting pregnant as she was lying about having Billy\u2019s baby. I must admit I didn\u2019t love that one, but I have to say I\u2019ve enjoyed it all and embraced the fun of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandhu remains tight-lipped on speculation around Meena\u2019s fate beyond this big week, though teases that, as much as we\u2019re all enjoying her guilt-free malevolence, the charismatic killing machine\u2019s luck is definitely running out. \u201cUsually everything slots into place when Meena makes a plan, but this time is different as things go wrong which could potentially mean trouble for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loved this\u00a0Big RT Interview<\/a>? Check out these\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Louis Theroux on Forbidden America<\/a> and why the US is appealing for documentary makers<\/strong><\/li>\n
Jamie Oliver on The Great Cookbook Challenge<\/a>\u00a0and how a bin liner changed his life<\/strong><\/li>\n
Jamie Demetriou on The Afterparty<\/a>\u00a0and the future of Stath Lets Flats<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
What we can definitely expect is more menacing musical interludes \u2013 Meena\u2019s party piece is psyching herself up by singing along to perky pop songs when nobody\u2019s looking, including Britney Spears\u2019 Toxic after chucking teenager Leanna Cavanagh off a bridge, and Man I Feel Like a Woman by Shania Twain as she lured Vinny to the barn of doom. Get ready for the return of the psychopath singalong\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cBelting out Avril Lavigne\u2019s Sk8er Boi in front of the mirror was my favourite one,\u201d she smiles. \u201cIt\u2019s a great song and was so much fun to film, and I got to dance around in the bedroom. There\u2019s a song called Teenagers by My Chemical Romance that I think sums Meena up, I made a note of it as part of my prep work to get into character. It\u2019s scary, dramatic, sassy and very her. I don\u2019t get to sing it on screen, but there is more singing coming up this week!<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for whether she finally gets her comeuppance, I feel like it\u2019s the most satisfying thing for all involved that we see the people Meena has hurt have their say, and a chance to go up against her. It would be a shame if we never got to see that. Personally I don\u2019t want her to get taken down because I love her!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Visit our dedicated\u00a0Emmerdale<\/a>\u00a0page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.\u00a0If you\u2019re looking for more to watch check out our\u00a0 TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/section>
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The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/section><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n
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