Emmerdale's Samantha Giles calls for Bernice's ex to arrive

Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Bernice Blackstock hasn't had the easiest of times in the romance department over the years.

Since her arrival on the soap all the way back in 1998, she saw her fiancé at the time have an affair, had a failed marriage to local vicar Ashley Thomas, her numerous affairs, a controversial relationship with former stepbrother Andy Sugden, another failed marriage (this time to Laurence White) and finally she tried (and failed) to win back fiancé Liam Cavanagh, with no shortage of drama.

But one person we do know she had a somewhat successful marriage with (at least longer than the others) back in the day was Charlie, with who she emigrated to Australia and shared daughter Dee Dee before their marriage eventually broke down too.

Now, Samantha Giles has revealed to Inside Soap that she hopes Charlie will finally make an appearance in the village, perhaps opening up the possibility for her character Bernice to eventually be happy.

samantha giles as bernice blackstock in emmerdale

ITV

"I think it's good that Bernice is single for a while, but I would like them to bring her ex-husband Charlie in. We could do with a few more men in Emmerdale! I think Charlie sounds like a male version of Bernice, so that would be really interesting. Remember, she was married to him for a really long time off-screen."

Though Charlie is British, Giles admitted that she wouldn't mind them bringing in an Australian actor for the role but "ask them to tone down the accent a bit".

Revealing more about what's to come for Bernice's family life now that her daughter Gabby (Rosie Bentham) is expecting a baby, Giles acknowledged that her character is "quite selfish" and will only be a grandmother when she chooses to be.

ITV

"I think Bernice will enjoy the nice bits of being a granny, but she's not going to change just because she's got a grandchild. She'll want to be a granny when she wants to be, then not be bothered when she's busy in her own life.

"It's nice to explore more of the mother-daughter relationship with Gabby. I don't think Bernice is cut out to be a mum, she's quite selfish, and she's never going to change. She's destined to be a rubbish mum forever!"

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.