Perdita Hyde-Sinclair

Fictional character from Emmerdale

Perdita Hyde Sinclair is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Georgia Slowe. Slowe joined the main cast alongside Christopher Villiers as Perdy's husband Grayson Sinclair. She made her first appearance in the lead up to the wedding between Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) and Grayson's brother Alasdair Sinclair (Ray Coulthard), which was broadcast on 1 March 2006. Perdy received immediate comparisons to Sadie, and an Inside Soap columnist pointed out that just like her, Perdy also "loves money, men and getting her way." Slowe bemoaned her and Villiers' slow introduction to the show, saying they had nothing to do for the first six months as producers let viewers get used to their characters. Perdy is characterised as the stuck up, stoic, obeying wife of Grayson. She has a "gutsy get up and go attitude", as well as "a taste for the finer things". On the surface, it appears Perdy and Grayson are a perfect match, but Grayson is secretly bisexual and his many affairs have hurt Perdy and strained their marriage. Shortly after her introduction, Perdy has a flirtation with veterinarian Hari Prasad (John Nayagam) and a one night stand with Matthew King (Matt Healy). It also emerges that Perdy has had difficulty in conceiving a child and she suffers a series of miscarriages, before undergoing a hysterectomy. Perdy has a difficult relationship with her mother in law Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson), who blames Perdy for not giving her grandchildren. Further storylines for the character include Rosemary's attempts to make Perdy appear insane, an affair with Matthew, and the break down of her marriage. Perdy and Grayson also accept Katie Sugden's (Sammy Winward) offer to become their surrogate, but Katie and Grayson soon begin a relationship, which leaves Perdy worried about her involvement in her child's life. Perdy also blackmails Grayson over his plot to frame Matthew for Rosemary's murder. In May 2008, it was announced that Slowe was leaving the show at the conclusion of the surrogacy storyline. Her character was written out as part of a cast clear out by the show's new series producer. Perdy's exit scenes aired on 22 July 2008, as she is persuaded by Katie to take the baby and start a new life.

In March 2006, Inside Soap announced Slowe and Christopher Villiers had joined the cast of Emmerdale on a regular basis, playing Perdita and Grayson Sinclair. The characters move into Oakwell Hall, after previously appearing in the run up to Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) and Alasdair Sinclair's (Ray Coulthard) wedding. Perdy was immediately compared to Sadie, with an Inside Soap writer calling her "a new rich bitch in the village" and noting she could "be every bit as evil as the scheming Ms King!" Slowe explained "We literally limped in and occasionally ambled into The Woolpack and bought an orange juice, so we were pulling our hair out. When they introduce new families, they have to do it very carefully, let people get used to you."

"Perdy comes across as the obeying wife of Grayson who only ever wanted to marry into money and have an easy life. But it transpires that Perdy’s life is not as rosy as it seems and her gutsy get up and go attitude can only be admired." Perdy was billed as having "a taste for the finer things, and will go all out for what she wants." Hari becomes smitten with Perdy, and later abandons a game of golf with Grayson to meet with her. However, Perdy just wants to talk, until there is a risk of them being caught together and she kisses him. Grayson's mother Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson) blames Perdy for not giving her grandchildren, which leaves Grayson "so horrified" he makes plans to move himself and Perdy out of Oakwell Hall. Slowe told Gillow that her character is "the kind of person who craves independence". A "horrified" Grayson then tries to hit Matthew with his car, before confronting him. Slowe said that they had to take care to get things right with the hysterectomy story and not show Perdy getting over it in a week. Slowe was aware that there would be women watching the show who have gone through the same procedure and they did not want to sell short how difficult it is. She also said that they had a responsibility to tackle an issue like that properly. When asked if Perdy's marriage can survive, Slowe replied: "Perdy's been asking herself if she can make the marriage work without a child. Even she's wondering what the point of going on is." A reporter for The Northern Echo likened the storyline to the plot of the 1944 film Gaslight. Villiers told Inside Soap'''s Allison Maund: "She's been setting Perdy up left, right and centre. From Grayson's point of view, his wife is delusional – which is why he's convinced that she needs proper psychiatric help. Rosemary hasn't caused Perdy's illness, but by constantly drugging her, she's made her condition far worse." Matthew immediately suspects Rosemary' involvement in Perdy's hospitalisation. Healy said that Matthew does not trust Rosemary and he thinks the worst of her, especially as it is "too convenient" for Rosemary that Perdy has gone "a bit doolally" and has been locked up. The storyline begins with Rosemary's attempts to push Grayson and Katie together, which she hopes will end his "fragile" marriage to Perdy. Winward said her character had "definitely fallen" for Grayson because of how nice he was to her. The trio later attend the first ultrasound scan, which makes them all realise how much of a mess they are all in. Winward commented "This is the point when they realise, 'Oh my God, we're really doing this!'. It's a very emotional moment, but they're all sitting there in amazement, wondering if they'll actually go through with this mad plan." Slowe told Maund (Inside Soap) "Grayson used a button from the cardigan as evidence to frame Matthew, which led to him being wrongly charged with Rosemary's murder." Paul has to intervene when Perdy discovers Grayson and Katie attended an ultrasound scan together and learned that the baby is a boy. The "ugly confrontation" between the couple steadily escalates until Grayson taunts Perdy about spending the night with Paul. This sends Perdy into "a rage" and she lunges for him, resulting in her arrest. When asked by a Soaplife writer whether that was from Grayson, Slowe replied "Hmmm, I think she may still be in love with him. Certainly when they meet and are alone together there's tenderness there. It's only ever been other people who cause trouble between them." Their characters were written out as part of a cast clear out by the show's new series producer Anita Turner. Slowe stated that she was looking forward to filming her character's exit scenes and praised the show for giving her a "a fantastic break." Slowe said she had enjoyed every moment of working on Emmerdale and acting on a soap opera with a close cast and crew. She called it "an amazing learning curve" and said she would miss her friends and Yorkshire, where the serial is filmed. She told Kris Green of Digital Spy that the plot would "do justice" to Perdy as she leaves, adding that there would be some unexpected twists and turns. Storylines
Shortly after arriving in the village, Perdy flirts with vet Hari Prasad in order to make Grayson jealous, but she cannot bring herself to be unfaithful despite Grayson's own infidelities. However, she and Hari become good friends. Perdy's mother in law Rosemary feels Perdy is not good enough for Grayson and her displeasure with Perdy's miscarriages and apparent inability to carry a child full term is evident. It soon becomes clear that Grayson has had a number of one night stands with men. When Perdy suspects Grayson is cheating again, she has sex with Matthew King, Grayson's stepbrother. Matthew is eager to take their relationship further, but Perdy is still committed to Grayson, so she and Matthew also become good friends. After suspecting she is pregnant, Perdy tells Grayson about Matthew, as she is worried about the paternity of the child, but is relieved to find it is a false alarm. In order to make amends for his cheating, Grayson buys Mill Cottage and the couple move in. However, Rosemary begins causing trouble between them. Perdy soon strikes up friendships with Paul Lambert and Katie Sugden. She discovers she is pregnant again, but when she begins bleeding Katie calls for an ambulance. When they reach the hospital, Perdy collapses and is diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and has to undergo an emergency hysterectomy. When Perdy awakes, Grayson tells her what has happened and she announces the end of their marriage, but Grayson refuses to leave. They discuss their marriage and agree to consider alternative options to have a family. After being discharged, Perdy suffers from insomnia and mood swings and is put on a course of antidepressants. Rosemary soon begins tampering with her medication in a bid to make Perdy seem insane. She gives away Perdy's new kitten and then digs a grave in the garden. She also fills the attic with baby furniture, which sparks an angry reaction from Perdy, who locks Rosemary in with her. Perdy is soon admitted to a psychiatric unit. Matthew visits and tells her to fake acceptance of her illness, before helping her get revenge on Rosemary. When Rosemary admits to what she has done, Grayson throws his mother out. Perdy stays with Matthew at Home Farm. After the truth is revealed to the village, Perdy leaves for London, but soon returns when Paul tracks her down and convinces her to return. Perdy and Grayson accept Katie's offer to be their surrogate. Perdy plans to leave Grayson once the baby is born, but he overhears her conversation with Matthew and then schemes to frame him for Rosemary's murder. Perdy discovers Grayson's scheme and blackmails him into going to the police and Matthew is released from remand. Perdy then leaves Grayson for Matthew. Katie threatens to terminate the pregnancy, but Perdy blackmails Grayson again. However, Grayson and Katie become a couple themselves and destroy Perdy's evidence against Grayson. Soon after, Perdy and Matthew break up. Things come to a head when Grayson tells Perdu that he and Paul had a one night stand and she attacks him and is arrested in the process. Grayson takes out a restraining order and Perdy leaves. She returns shortly before Katie gives birth. They reconcile after Katie discovers Grayson's bisexuality and infidelities. When Katie goes into labour in Matthew's car, Perdy helps delivers the baby and later at the hospital, she and Matthew make amends. Katie and Matthew convince Perdy to start a new life – just her and her son – and give her £20,000. After some persuasion, Perdy and her much longed for baby son leave the hospital and Grayson misses them by seconds. Perdy later sends a photo of herself and the baby to Matthew, which he passes on to Grayson. Reception
An Inside Soap writer branded the character "the latest rich bitch about to set hearts aflutter in the Dales". while another critic for the newspaper noted: "It seems she's not happy unless she's up to her neck in murder and intrigue." A fellow reporter called her a "long suffering brunette". Jane Simon of the Daily Mirror was critical of the character and her husband, writing "I'm trying to imagine what Gray and Perdy's child might be like – if it takes after its parents it'll be so wooden Katie will be able to use it as an occasional table." When Perdy returned home to stay with Gray and Katie, Simon commented that she would "rather stick pins in my eyes" than watch the scenes. A writer from All About Soap was not impressed with Rosemary scheming against Perdy. They included the plot in their stories "we hate" feature adding, "Rosemary out to get Perdy what's that all about?" While reviewing Rosemary's attempts to drive Perdy insane, a critic for The Northern Echo'' commented "This is no bad thing, I may help her as Perdy is already driving me mad." However, they thought that Perdy showed she was "not as nutty as a bag of almonds" when she realises what Rosemary was up to, but thought that "locking herself and her tormentor in the attic hardly seems the action of a sane woman."