Hilary Potts

Infobox Emmerdale character 2


name=Hilary Potts
creator=Kathleen Beedles
portrayer=Paula Wilcox
years=2007-2008
born= 1948
death=
first = 30 April 2007
last = 6 May 2008

spouse=Douglas Potts
daughters=Caroline Swann
Laurel Thomas
grandsons=Edward Swann
Arthur Doland granddaughters = Beatrice Swann

Hilary Potts is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera "Emmerdale". She is played by Paula Wilcox.

About Hilary

Hilary is the mother of Laurel Thomas, the wife of "Emmerdale's" vicar Ashley Thomas.

She arrived on April 30 along with her husband Douglas for a meal with their daughter. All went well, but after they left, they were involved in a car crash on May 1.

Both survived the crash and returned to the village to see their new grandson. Tragically, Daniel died of cot death in February 2008. Hillary and Douglas stayed on until the memorial service, but a devastated Laurel told Hilary she blamed her for Daniel's death, since Hilary had promised to check on Daniel. Hilary tried to work out their problems, but Laurel asked her to leave. Hilary and Douglas returned home, but on a return visit several weeks later, Laurel and Hilary patched things up and Hilary and Douglas moved back in with Ashley and Laurel.

The family began to move on from the tragedy of Daniel's death, but when Laurel and Ashley learned Daniel had been a carrier for cystic fibrosis even though neither of their families had that in their medical history, Hilary became concerned. Her concern grew rapidly when she learned Melanie Doland, whose son Arthur had been born the same day as Daniel, said her sister had died of cystic fibrosis. A few weeks later, Mel's husband Greg told Hilary that Arthur was allergic to seafood. This was common in Hillary's family. Hilary became convinced that Daniel had not been Laurel and Ashley's baby, and even though Douglas, Ashley, and Laurel thought she was losing her mind, she convinced the doctor to run the blood types again. Soon afterwards, the doctor told Laurel and Ashley that Daniel could not have been their child. A devastated Laurel slapped Hilary and blamed her for adding to their agony. Hilary felt guilty for what her daughter had gone through, but told Doug she knew the Dolands were raising Laurel's and Ashley's son.

When Hilary found out the Dolands were going on holiday to Spain, she vanished with Arthur. They were soon found, but a fed up Ashley told the Dolands about the possible baby mix up. Greg and Mel Doland attempted to flee the country with the baby, but Ashley stopped them in time. Hilary called the police, who said they couldn't intervene, but the added stress caused Mel to flee with Arthur. Laurel continued to refuse to accept that Arthur might be her son. Hilary told Laurel she couldn't watch Laurel ignore her own son, and reluctantly returned home.

Doug receives a phone call from Hilary on the day of Arthur's birthday asking for a divorce.