Suzy Merton was an event planner at Take A Vow and Vanessa Woodfield's girlfriend.
She was killed in the Valentine’s Limo Crash in February 2025.
Biography[]
2022: Arrival in Emmerdale and meeting Vanessa[]
Vanessa met Suzy in March 2022 after Suzy appeared from nowhere and walked into the path of Vanessa's reversing car. Suzy was unharmed, but the gender reveal cake she was carrying ended up ruined on a heap on the road so a stressed Suzy had a go at Vanessa. Vanessa suggested Suzy look where she's going next time but Suzy wanted an apology and advised Vanessa to get some anger management classes. Vanessa hit back that Suzy should take a chill pill then Suzy stormed off, leaving the ruined cake on the road.
The following week, Suzy bumped into Vanessa in The Woolpack so Vanessa bought her a drink to apologise for their previous encounter. The pair flirted over a drink and realised they enjoyed each other's company so they agreed to go for another drink sometime. On the day of their date, Vanessa's young son Johnny was ill so Vanessa was unable to make it but she couldn't contact Suzy to cancel as she had accidentally broken her phone. Suzy got fed up of waiting for Vanessa at the bar so she turned up at Vanessa's house. When Vanessa explained the situation, Suzy was happy to rearrange their date.
Suzy and Vanessa had their rearranged date the following day. First, they enjoyed a wine tasting event at David's Shop then the pair went for a drink in The Woolpack. Whilst they were in The Woolpack, Suzy was surprised to bump into Leyla Cavanagh. Leyla was unnerved by Suzy's presence but Suzy assured Leyla she would keep her secret. It soon transpired Suzy and Leyla's secret was that they took cocaine together.
When Suzy was invited up to Butlers Farm for lunch with Vanessa, Leyla and their friend Moira Dingle she soon realised she had played a part in the death of Moiras daughter Holly Barton in 2016, as she had been Holly's boss and gave her the money which she used to buy the drugs that killed her. Suzy felt immense guilt and decided to quit using drugs and urged Leyla to do the same, however Leyla had became more reliant on the drugs than Suzy was.
In July 2022, Suzy had organised a presentation at Hawksford Outdoor Pursuits for a partnership between HOP and Take A Vow, however it was revealed to both Vanessa and Holly's family that Suzy had known Holly, when a picture of Holly was shown. Moira soon found out the truth about Holly's death and Vanessa dumped Suzy. Vanessa struggled to be without Suzy and while Moira did not forgive Suzy she told Vanessa she would not try to put a stop to her and Suzy's relationship.
In November 2022, An old friend of Vanessa offered her a dream job in Canada, working for a charity. Suzy encouraged Vanessa to take the offer and said that she wouldn't mind moving with her. Their relationship soon started to show its cracks and Suzy decided that it would be better if she didn't go with Vanessa and Johnny to Canada and ended things between them. As Vanessa was leaving in the taxi for the airport, the taxi came to halt, Suzy was shown stood in front of it. Suzy said goodbye to Vanessa properly and kissed her, then watched as the taxi left the village.
2023: Dealing with Callum and friendship with Mary[]
In early 2023, Suzy supported Leyla after her son, Jacob Gallagher was stabbed by drug dealer, Callum. Suzy was there for Leyla when she confided that she had text Callum for drugs, which was the reason Jacob got stabbed. In March, Suzy insisted that Leyla join her on a night out in town. While at the club, they saw Callum dealing drugs and Suzy suggested they report him. As Callum was arrested, Leyla gloated that they had reported him, which Suzy told her was risky but Leyla told her not to worry as he would be behind bars.
A short while later, Suzy was hit in the head as she went to see Leyla at Tug Ghyll. She wasn’t found until the next day and had to be taken to hospital for her head injury. Suzy told Leyla that it must of been Callum and he would be back, so they agreed to be more careful. However, Callum showed up a few days later with a gun and held the two of them hostage, along with Jacob but fortunately, Leyla was able to talk Callum down.
Over the following months, Suzy struck up a friendship with the Woolpack’s assistant chef, Mary Goskirk. Suzy encouraged Mary to go on dating apps so she could explore her sexuality after years of repression. When Mary met a woman named Faye on one of these apps, Suzy advised her on her new relationship. However, Faye was later revealed to be a con artist who stole from Mary and blackmailed her over nude photos. After this, Mary felt like a fool and Suzy helped her realise that none of it was her fault.
On New Year’s Eve 2023, Suzy and Mary had a charged moment after spending the evening together. However, Suzy left before anything happened and pushed these feelings away.
2024 to 2025: Vanessa's return and the love triangle[]
In February 2024, Vanessa returned from Canada and she eventually bumped into Suzy, who was shocked to see her back in the village. A few days later they ended up getting drunk and kissed. The next morning Suzy bumped into Vanessa again who made it clear that things were too complicated for them to get back together. As all of this was happening, Suzy was oblivious to the fact that Mary had feelings for her. On a karaoke night at the Woolpack, Vanessa decided to sing to try and win back Suzy. Soon after she revealed to Suzy that she was ready to give their relationship another go and pulled her in for a kiss, Mary watched on and ran off in tears. The next day, Suzy told Leyla that she has feelings for Mary and wanted to know if she felt the same way before getting back with Vanessa. In the Woolpack, Suzy found Mary who was busy working and asked her if she had any feelings for her, Mary assured her that she only sees her as a friend.
Suzy and Leyla later convinced Belle King to join Take A Vow after planning her wedding. Suzy brought Belle to a meeting with a rich client but warned her that he was a flirt. The meeting went well and Suzy assured Belle that she had done a good job, but was confused when Belle left suddenly after talking with her husband, Tom. When Belle left the company all of a sudden some time later, both Leyla and Suzy were disappointed, not knowing that Belle’s abusive husband had forced her to leave.
In July 2024, Suzy complained to Vanessa about the commute into work. Vanessa then asked Suzy to move in with her, which delighted Suzy and she instantly made arrangements. In August, Leyla asked Suzy for help investigating Ella Forster and they found out that Ella had killed her best friend she was eleven and changed her name upon her release. They exposed Ella in the pub later and Leyla told her to leave the village, though Suzy was more understanding of Ella’s situation.
In January 2025, Suzy and Leyla welcomed Belle back to work after her ordeal with Tom. A short while later, Leyla confided in Suzy that she was lonely and Suzy promised to spend more time with her, so they decided to organise a Valentines limo ride and raffle it off. This was a success and both Leyla and Suzy were invited on a girls night out in the limo by the winner, Kerry Wyatt. The day of the night out, Suzy confessed to Mary that she had feelings for her and had decided she was going to break up with Vanessa because she wanted them to be together, despite their age difference. They kissed but were caught by Leyla and Mary ran off. Later, Suzy went on the night out but was sadly killed when the limo crashed into an icy lake.
Suzy’s funeral was held off screen as it was planned by her parents, though Vanessa and Mary did attend. Vanessa later discovered Suzy’s feelings for Mary when she saw texts between Suzy and Leyla on Suzy’s phone.
Career[]
Suzy worked as an event planner at Take A Vow with Leyla. Suzy had helped plan weddings for couples in the village such as Belle and Tom as well as Amy and Matty. It was assumed that she worked as one elsewhere before her arrival in the village as in her first appearance she was supposed to be carrying a gender reveal cake to a client.
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Tug Ghyll | 20th December 2022 to 6th July 2023 |
| Mum's house | 6th July 2023 to 19th July 2024 |
| Tug Ghyll | 19th July 2024 to 14th February 2025 |
