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Emmerdale’s Bear Wolf is currently being exploited by evil Celia Daniels and Ray Walters, who have trapped him in a modern slavery situation, with Ray manipulating him into believing that things would be worse for him if he left.

But actor Joshua Richards has teased that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel for his character.

When asked if Bear will ever be the same after his horrific ordeal, he said: “Yes of course he will because it’s soap, darling! We all bounce back.”

While there’s hope for the long term future, at the moment Bear doesn’t actually want to get out of his situation.

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Next week’s scenes will see Bear’s fellow captives Mick and Simo tell him that they’ve worked out an escape plan, but he’s not keen on the idea.

“I don’t think he wants to leave at all in the first place,” Richards added. “I think he just doesn’t want to upset anybody, but wants to go along with them.”

A lot of it is down to the way that charismatic Ray has brainwashed him, with the actor stating: “A lot of it is pointing out that ‘sometimes your previous life was absolutely dreadful’, ‘aren’t things better now because you can trust me?’ It’s like giving a dog treats.

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“It’s very clever manipulation. It’s very insidious. You can bit by bit instill in somebody that you are needed by them for their very existence, Ray is very successful at doing that because he has a natural charm and an ability to do get under people’s skin.”

However, scenes that have already aired and ones set for next week showcase that Ray actually has a conscience, and that’s something Bear notices.

“He can see there is something inside Ray,” Richards said. Could that be Bear’s way out of this?