Pearl Ladderbanks: Money worries, gambling habit and heartbreak!
She went through a lot in her time in the village!
Pearl Ladderbanks was one of Emmerdale fans’ favourite characters. She was good-hearted and funny, but she somehow always found herself making bad choices and getting into trouble.
Pearl’s arrival in the village
Snooty Edna Birch declared Pearl was a ‘trollop’ almost as soon as she arrived in the village! But flamboyant and fun, Ms Ladderbanks was soon making friends. She hit it off with Len Reynolds when she first came to Emmerdale, and the pair quickly started a romance. He proposed and she accepted and they moved in together. But Pearl was hiding a big secret!
Pearl’s secret
It turned out that Pearl’s son Frank was not a financial adviser, as she’d told everyone in the village. In fact, he was serving time for rape. Len was horrified when he found out, but quickly realised Pearl had been through enough when it came to Frank and stood by her.
When he was released, Frank came to stay with Pearl and Len. But his arrival was written about in the Hotten Courier and the villagers all turned against poor Pearl. Only Ashley and Edna stood by her and Len. Scott Windsor and Syd Woolfe beat Frank up after a misunderstanding involving Scott’s sister Donna, and Frank decided to move away and start a new life elsewhere.
Pearl and Len were upset about how they’d been treated so they decided to move away too, but their friends in the village rallied round and convinced them to stay.
Money troubles
Pearl’s grandson Owen came to visit from Hong Kong. But Pearl was put in an awkward position when he asked to see where his dad was buried. It turned out his mum had lied and said his dad was dead, rather than admitting the truth about him being in prison.
Pearl told Owen the truth, and was surprised when he said he already knew! He just wanted someone to be honest with him.
The pair became close and Pearl began saving up to visit Owen in Hong Kong. But she soon made some bad decisions when she invested in a get-rich-quick scheme and persuaded some of her friends to invest, too.
But the scheme was a scam and Pearl lost all her cash and her friends’ money too. Desperate to make amends, she took a loan from Eric.
Len wasn’t impressed when he found out, but he repaid the loan, only for Pearl to be hit with an early-repayment penalty Eric had sneaked into her contract.
She was so guilt-ridden with the mess she’d made that she left the village, leaving her engagement ring and a note for Len.
Return to the village for Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl was working in a pub, using a false name, when she bumped into Daz Eden, who’d fled from his mum and her boyfriend. They went back to Emmerdale together and to Pearl’s relief, she was welcomed back with open arms. She even reconciled with Len.
More blackmail
Pearl started working for the Kings, and she was a key witness when Tom was murdered. She knew Jimmy had lied about being with Kelly on the night, because she’d seen Kelly alone. Jimmy tried to blackmail Pearl into keeping quiet but she went to the police.
Len’s death
When Len died, Pearl was devastated. The whole village turned out to say goodbye. As Pearl tried to move on, she thought Eric was being an unlikely friend to her, but it turned out he was just trying to swindle her out of her home.
More money woes
By 2015 Pearl was working at the vet’s but she discovered she’d been underpaying her gas bill and was deep in debt. She turned to gambling to try to make more wonga and was soon in even worse trouble.
She started stealing from the vet’s and even pretended to be suffering from memory troubles in order to get away with it. But when Vanessa found a list of IOUs she’d been keeping, the game was up. She was sacked and she sold her house to Eric to pay off her debts.
Once more she planned to leave the village but once more, she was convinced to stay.
Pearl left the village in 2020, moving to a static caravan in Demdyke and then to Hong Long to be with Owen.
Who played Pearl Ladderbanks?
Pearl was played by actress Meg Johnson. She had a long and glittering career in showbiz from making her debut on the stage aged just six when she was evacuated to Bolton during the war.
Meg played Eunice Gee in Coronation Street in the 1980s and 90s, and worked regularly with Victoria Wood. She starred in productions of Chicago, Gypsy and Follies, and played Brigid McKenna in Broookside from 2000-2003.
In 2003 she landed the role of Pearl in Emmerdale and stayed in the village until 2020.
In 2024 heartbreak struck Emmerdale when Pearl Ladderbanks died. Although actress Meg Johnson had died in real life in July 2023, she was not honoured on screen until almost a year later.
Emmerdale gets news Pearl has died
Paddy Kirk received a letter from Owen telling him Pearl had passed away. The letter came with a parcel containing a hand-knitted jumper for Paddy to wear – specially made for him by Pearl.
“Gran knew she was fading but kept fighting until the end,” the letter read. “You were always in her thoughts and she was determined you should have one last jumper. Knitting it kept her going. Not long enough but longer than I could’ve hoped so thank you.”
Sob!
Meg Johnson’s death
Actress Meg Johnson, who played Pearl, died in July 2023 aged 86. A statement from her family read: “It is with great sadness that we announce that actress Meg Johnson passed away peacefully yesterday evening surrounded by her family. Meg was a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye.”
It continued: “Meg had an outstanding career that ended with her playing Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale from 2003. Meg had dementia for the last few years, but battled on personally and professionally regardless.
“She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her.”
Her friends at Emmerdale remembered her as “a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye”.
Meg had lost her husband, English actor and ITV Granada television presenter Charles Foster, earlier in the year and was said to have struggled following his death.
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