Justice comes to all soap villains, even the very worst – and that certainly applies to Emmerdale’s Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) and Ray Walters (Joe Absolom).

The mother and son criminal duo have brought sorrow and suffering to Emmerdale by running their sickening secret people trafficking empire from Butler’s farm, where the forced workers have been routinely subjected to manipulation, violence and extreme hardship.

Of all the people who would fall victim to this kind of grooming and manipulation, the formidable wrestler and Dales legend Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) might be the last person you’d imagine. The popular soap challenged viewers’ perceptions of modern slavery’s victims by having Celia and Ray ensnare a strong, forthright and confident character such as Bear by exploiting his vulnerabilities and desperation in order to make the point that being groomed can happen to anyone.

With the end of Bear’s nightmare in sight, actor Joshua Richards reflects on the success of one of Emmerdale’s biggest issue-based stories.

‘I think the job that has been done by the producers, the writers and the script editors has been outstanding. And to bring a story like this to the forefront, which was up for analysis and discussion, makes great sense to us as a general public about the kind of things which are happening under our noses in plain sight in modern Britain today.

‘Modern slavery is alive and well, and it’s horrifying. I think it was very brave for people for them to bring this subject forward and I’m intensely proud of what we, as a team, have done. It was a huge collaboration and this is a subject that most of the time is brushed under the carpet. But they brought it to the forefront of our minds.’

After an explosive row with his son Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt), Bear left the village seemingly to stay with a friend. The truth was he was too proud to tell his son that he was sleeping in his car.

It was in his darkest hour that Ray and Celia were able to take advantage of Bear, giving him a job and shelter at Butler’s Farm. In reality, Bear was a prisoner like the other forced labourers, forced to live in the barn and subjected to inhumane working conditions.

Worst of all, Bear suffered a devastating loss when friend and fellow labourer Anya succumbed to illness and died, forcing him to bury her himself in Celia’s twisted makeshift ‘funeral.’

Even after this terrible tragedy, Ray was able to gaslight and coerce Bear into obedience. After all, Bear may be trapped in the barn, but the real prison is in his own head.

One of the hardest hitting parts about this story is seeing Bear alone and feeling utterly worthless, while in the outside world, his son Paddy worries for his safety. Joshua Richards sheds some light into the mental state which keeps Bear a prisoner.

‘Bear feels redundant and for somebody who feels they are no longer pertinent or needed they find that they can withdraw.’ He explains. ‘Because they do feel redundant and obsolete. And much to the dismay of the family.