Emmerdale - Joanie Wright enters into very dangerous territory with Zak Dingle as they share a second kiss.

Zak become even more smitten with Joanie as she prepares to sing at the opening of the new village hall.

Zak is bowled over when he witnesses Joanie's undeniable talent in her rehearsal, but his support is starting to stray beyond the realms of friendship.

Denise Black, who plays Joanie, revealed: "I genuinely don't believe that Joanie realises how strongly Zak feels about her. There is no sense that she is being divisive or manipulative here. I toyed with those ideas, but it wouldn't serve the story. Joanie is the genuine article. I don't believe that anyone has paid her any attention in terms of admiring her in a long time, so it's almost not in her remit. She's a white-haired lady bringing up a kid! When Joanie is preparing for her performance, she realises that she has got nothing to wear and she's in a tizz about it. Zak so sweetly gives her a hand and takes her off to a dress shop. She puts on a dress and she just looks fabulous. It's too expensive for Joanie to afford, but Zak gives her some cash. Joanie promises that she'll pay it back, so it's still just within the bounds of friendship but they're in a dangerous zone now. But even at that point, I don't think that Joanie acknowledges the chemistry. There has been a kiss already, but they've absolutely agreed that there'll never be another."

Despite currently being in denial, everything becomes crystal clear for Joanie when Zak kisses her again after watching her perform on stage that evening.

Joanie plays with fire by responding to Zak's advances, but she soon rushes off when she realises that they can't carry on betraying Lisa like this.

Black continued: "The kiss is so romantic. I was up all night wondering how we were going to do it! I was quite worried about it. As older people, we don't go down to the gym and viewers don't want to see us with our clothes off, so I was concerned about how we'd fulfil the script. God bless the director, because he'd thought it all through and the kiss is so pretty and so emotional. I don't know what the young ones will think - anyone who kisses over the age of 40 is disgusting if you're a kid! I hope people will just see that you're still a human being when you're older and you're never written off. I personally think that's what is so fascinating about the story. You get to a point in your life where you're done and dusted, all the decisions are made and you do not expect to fall in love. But that's the territory Emmerdale is taking Joanie and Zak in. Poor Lisa!"

As Zak ponders his next move, Joanie starts to plan her exit strategy by lying that she has bagged a new job singing in a posh hotel. She spins the false tale as she is looking for any excuse to get away from the temptation of Zak.

"It's dreadful for both of them. This is the second time they've kissed, so they've shifted a gear and they can't pretend anymore. Zak absolutely still loves Lisa, so it's a mess. Even when I come off set, the people watching on the monitors hiss me because I'm toying with soap royalty, so what I'm fighting for is to see where Joanie comes from. She's not a siren who's looking to muck around with people's lives, she's salt of the earth and this is the most dangerous situation that she's been in," Black explained. 

Airs Wednesday, December 16th