Mary was introduced as the mother of established character Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry), with whom she shares a strained relationship with upon arrival.

Viewers were initially wary of Mary's intentions upon her arrival, but quickly into her tenure, she was dubbed a fan favourite whose wit and nerve was found entertaining.

[1] When she was cast, she headed to the producers to say: "don't give me a cardigan and a zimmer frame because I'm 70", wanting a more complex character to play.

[2] They delighted Jameson by informing her of their plans for Mary,[2] a woman who was billed as a domineering, feisty and "no-nonsense character" with a sharp wit and stubbornness that would challenge Rhona and other villagers.

[4] Producers were excited to have cast Jameson on Emmerdale due to her breadth of acting experience and said that there would not "ever be a dull moment" with Mary around.

[7] She gives backhanded compliments that come from genuine feelings; Jameson admitted that Mary suffers slightly from narcissistic personality disorder since she relates other people's actions back to herself.

[7] Upon Mary's introduction, she "bursts onto the scene at a critical point in her daughter's life" since Rhona is dealing with memories of her rapist, Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather).

However, Digital Spy noted that Mary arriving at the time of Rhona's struggles could benefit their relationship, serving as an opportunity for them to bond.

[13] Rhona is preparing to propose to partner Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), who has recently had a stroke prior to Mary's arrival.

It becomes clear to Mary that Rhona has taken on a lot by caring for Marlon and his daughter, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), as well as her own son, Leo Goskirk (Harvey Rogerson).

Mary enjoys having a new friend to talk to due to having been so lonely over recent years; she also bonds with Faith since they both have experiences with dysfunctional families and are of a similar age.

She then comes out as a lesbian to Kim and tells her about her lost love, Louise, the woman whom she claimed was her dead friend to Rhona.

Afterwards, she confides in Rhona about what happened and Mary's vulnerability is explored when she admits that hiding her sexuality for so many years has left her feeling lonely.

[21] Speaking about the romantic pairing, executive producer Jane Hudson explained that since it is Mary's first relationship since coming out, viewers would see her become very vulnerable with Faye.

Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) warns Mary about Faye, who does not listen, and it was confirmed that the storyline would take a violent turn.

Jameson thought it was sad that Mary's first relationship since coming out had ended badly was glad to raise awareness of the harsh realities of elderly people being scammed.

She explained: "I think women in their 70s having a sex life is a very delicate conversation to have anyway, let alone when that woman has recently come out as a lesbian.

[30] Prior to her debut, Entertainment Daily billed Mary's arrival as one of five future storylines that would "save the soaps", praising Jameson's acting abilities.

[33] Following the departure of fan favourite Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu), viewers and critics found that Emmerdale had entered a "tough spot".

They praised the pairing for their scenes and noted that they feel like a realistic friendship, describing Mary coming out to Kim as "one of those rare storylines that has just worked from the get go".

Spackman, a lesbian writer, praised Emmerdale for their representation and related to Mary's feelings of regret over hiding her sexuality.