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Tag: Meena Jutla

  • 4 reasons why Ella will never dethrone Meena Jutla as ‘Top Village Killer’ no matter how hard she tries

    4 reasons why Ella will never dethrone Meena Jutla as ‘Top Village Killer’ no matter how hard she tries

    Emmerdale fans got a little excitable on Thursday (August 22) as Ella Forster went on a bit of a birthday rampage.

    That doesn’t mean she got a bit tiddly on too many Proseccos, and demolished her birthday cake by herself (although she did do this… but not by scoffing it all down.)

    Instead, Ella blew up at Mandy over a selfie shared online, had a rather awkward encounter with the brother of the girl she killed, punched a nurse, and got nicked. Not your typical celebrations, then. And she didn’t even get to blow out any candles.

    However, while Ella’s meltdown left some fans wondering about whether she’ll return to the village, other viewers have tipped her to be the soap’s next big baddie.

    But will she ever be able to top the malevolence of mad, bad, and deadly-to-know Emmerdale villainess Meena Jutla? In a word, no. And here’s why.

    Ella is arrested
    Ella doesn’t have what it takes to be a top tier soap serial killer (Credit: ITV)

    Body count

    It seems a little distasteful to highlight, but that won’t stop us: Ella is going to have to work on her body count if she’s to challenge Meena’s reputation.

    Meena bumped off at least five other characters, including two (her dad and BFF) as part of her off-screen backstory.

    At the moment, Ella only has one confirmed kill to her name. And, at this stage, we don’t exactly know all the details surrounding Joanne’s death. You never know, it might turn out there are as-yet undisclosed details around the killing which even Ella has buried deep, deep down… and portray her in a more sympathetic light.

    So if she wants to be considered on the level of Meena, Ella needs to bury people, not feelings… and get those numbers up!

    Meena was flipping scary

    Sure, Ella’s a bit useful with her fists (as Wendy’s conk found out) and a little aggressive towards tasty tokens of endearment from her friends (why would anyone ever waste cake by decorating the ground with it?), but she doesn’t have the compassionless, merciless look Meena had.

    Ella, meanwhile, is all doe-eyed and smoochy lipped for Dr Liam Cavanagh. If that happened with Meena you’d be concerned why her pupils were so enlarged – and whether she was about to lean in and bite someone’s throat out rather than linger about for a tender kiss goodbye.

    Ella looks at Liam
    Is this really a look a top village killer would give? We think not (Credit: ITV)

    Family connections

    Any soap murderer can bump off a few randoms to establish their murderous potential. But to really excel as a first class psychopath, it is necessary to take out a few loved ones along the way.

    Meena’s dad and (other) sister may not have appeared on screen, but she had sister Manpreet to torment, and demonstrate just how much of a wrong ‘un she was.

    Ella, however, doesn’t have any close relatives in the village to victimise, and really prove what a nasty piece of work she may be. So that goes against her, too.

    Regrets? She’s had a few

    To get ahead as a soap serial killer, you need to be more than a little bit dead inside yourself.

    Ella seems – through her flashes of regret, and self-examination, and tears – to have a little bit of soul and humanity left. That won’t do – must die harder!

    Soap serial killers needs to revel in and relish their dastardly deeds, too. Meena had the potential to murder while painting her nails. She gloried in the death and chaos she unleashed.

    Ella, meanwhile, still hasn’t got over knocking off her best pal years ago. Some people just don’t have what it takes to be a bloodthirsty homicidal maniac, we’re afraid.

    Read more: What did Ella actually do to Joanne and why does Gary hate her so much?

    Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.

    Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.

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  • Leanna Cavanagh: Her sad family history and tragic murder

    Leanna Cavanagh: Her sad family history and tragic murder

    Leanna Cavanagh seemed like the girl who had it all – a doting father, a handsome boyfriend, and big plans for her bright future.

    But her life was cruelly taken away when she was murdered by Dales serial killer Meena Jutla.

    So what was Leanna’s story and what happened to her?

    Leanna Cavanagh was played by Mimi Slinger
    Leanna Cavanagh played by Mimi Slinger (Credit: ITV)

    Early days in Emmerdale for Leanna Cavanagh

    Leanna was introduced to the Emmerdale viewers in early 2018, as the troubled teenage daughter of Dr Liam Cavanagh.

    As a little girl, Leanna had lost her mum, and though when she was first on screen she was mean and unkind, her backstory made her seem more sympathetic.

    Tipsy Leanna Cavanagh [MIMI SLIONGER] embarasses herself when she tries to make a move on Billy Fletcher [JAY KONTZLE].
    Leanna caused a lot of trouble in the village (Credit: ITV)

    Jacob and Leanna

    Leanna and Jacob hit it off straightaway but their first night together ended in disaster, when Jacob was nasty to Leanna.

    They did reconcile, but Jacob went to stay in Portugal for a while, leaving Leanna feeling lonely.

    Making friends – or not!

    Leanna was a difficult person to like at first. She used Amelia Spencer’s disappearance to her advantage and when Amelia returned, made her life difficult and bullied her.

    And she started a rivalry with Gabby, too, trying to get her fired from her job as a waitress.

    Leanna on the bridge before she died
    Leanna uncovered the truth about Meena (Credit: ITV)

    Leanne causes trouble for dad Liam Cavanagh in Emmerdale

    Of course, the real focus of Leanna’s scheming and troublemaking was always her dad’s partners.

    She loathed Maya Stepney – her dad’s partner who cheated with David Metcalfe (and who later groomed and abused Jacob).

    And she also took against Bernice – Liam’s new girlfriend – taking increasingly nasty steps to cause trouble for her.

    But when Leanna made snide remarks that encouraged Bernice to buy dodgy Botox online, things began to change.

    Meena gets hold of a scared Leanna
    Meena brutally murdered poor Leanna (Credit: ITV)

    Sad story

    Bernice had an anaphylactic shock reaction to the Botox, she nearly died. Leanna’s mother died from an allergic reaction, and the storyline revealed a new side to the troublesome teenager.

    After that, Bernice and Leanna rubbed along quite nicely – until Liam snogged Leyla!

    Leanna tried her best to split her dad and Leyla, until she succeeded, when she did an about-turn and focused all her attention on getting them back together!

    Meena looks at Leanna's body
    Meena left Leanna to die (Credit: ITV)

    Leanna’s death

    By summer 2021, Leanna had become a much more popular member of the Emmerdale community. She was happily loved-up with Jacob, and the pair were planning to go travelling.

    On the day of Leanna’s 18th birthday, stepmum Leyla was getting a party ready for Leanna.

    But unfortunately for Leanna, she discovered that Meena was the one who’d stolen the money from the Pride event. And then she worked out that Meena had killed her friend Nadine, too.

    Underestimating just how dangerous Meena was, Leanna legged it with the Dales killer in hot pursuit.

    After a confrontation on the bridge between the pair, Meena threw her former friend over the wall and sent her crashing into the river.

    Meena looks at the charity collection
    Meena took the charity collection – and murdered five people! (Credit: ITV)

    What happened to murderous Meena?

    Meena went on to kill Andrea Tate and Ben Tucker. After a LOT of drama she was eventually apprehended and is currently in prison for life.

    Who played Leanna Cavanagh in Emmerdale?

    Leanna was played by actress and model Mimi Slinger. She’s since appeared in Masters of the Air on Apple TV+ and has signed with modelling agency Storm.


    Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.

    Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.