Cynthia Daggert and her sons, Danny and Sam, only arrived in Emmerdale in June, but already their troubles are pileing up. Life got seriously out of hand for the family when Cynthia's heavily pregnant daughter, Latisha, also arrived in the village. Meanwhile, Cynthia herself came to blows with Carol Waring in The Woolpack! "Cynthia was just trying to give her family a fresh start," explains actress Key Purcell, who plays the matriarch of the Daggert clan. "But they just seem to be having a run of bad luck,"
And the misfortune continued when Latisha goes into labour before even finding her family. Luckily Jason Kirk happened to be passing and found himself delivering the baby!
"Cynthia didn't agree with Latisha's choice of boyfriend, and they had argued about that," admits Kay "But when Latisha's relationship went pear shaped she decided to visit her mum. It made Cynthia more determined to solve their problems."
After Carol Waring had shown the family the door at the B&B, they had kindly been taken in by Bernice and Ashley Thomas. However, the presence of Latisha's new baby jeopardised this arrangement, adding to Cynthia's trials.
"Cynthia was unaware that Bernice has suffered a miscarriage," Kay continued "She only found out after asking if Latisha and the baby can stay and she's absolutely mortified. So Cynthia told the kids to look for anything going, and when Danny found an unused holiday cottage, Cynthia reluctantly moved the family in as squatters - although she really didn't want to break the law."
However, the police soon arrived at the cottage following a tip-off. When Cynthia discovered it was Carol who gave them the information, the pair's already stormy relationship reached flashpoint and they came to blows in The Woolpack.

"Carol was jealous of Cynthia's friendship with Terry Woods," explains Kay, "And things culminated in this huge fight!"
So, did Kay enjoy filming such dramatic scenes so early in her Emmerdale career? (n.b. Kay has appeared in Emmerdale in 1996-1997 as Andy Hopwood's social worker Carmel Morgan)
"The fight was fantastic," the actress smiles. "Helen Pearson, who plays Carol, and I psyched ourselves up first and we had a fight director, so it looked real - I had bruises afterwards!"
As Cynthia proves, the Daggerts are no pushover.
And, according to Kay, are set to revitalise the village. "I think they'll bring some city energy," enthuses Kay. "Cynthia is quite laid back, but if you mess with her family, it's trouble!"
While it's been a chaotic start for Cynthia, Kay is relishing working on Emmerdale. "They've made Cynthia and Lisa Dingle friends, which is great - Jane Cox, who plays Lisa, has been lovely to work with ~ we're always gossipsing when we're not on set!"