Rachel Hughes is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Glenda McKay.

This made publicising the serial easier, as national newspapers had been reluctant to print articles about the storylines up to that point.

He introduced Sarah Connolly (Madeleine Howard) and the Hughes family in September 1988 to "shake up the mix and to act as identification figures" for newer viewers.

She told Angela Hagan of the Daily Mirror that she "couldn't believe it" when she was later offered an audition, which led to her casting.

[4] McKay told Hayward that she and Rachel were much more in parallel and shared a lot of similarities when she was younger, such as boyfriend troubles.

[5] Lance Parkin, author of 30 Years of Emmerdale, noted that Rachel falls "passionately in love" with Pete, so she is "devastated" when he leaves the village with his wife, ending the affair.

[6] Rachel is involved in a love triangle with Michael Feldmann (Matthew Vaughan), to whom she becomes engaged, and university student Jayesh Parmar (John Leary).

[7] McKay admitted that the storyline was very confusing because the actors were not given any long-term plans and learned what was going to happen when the scripts arrived, so in one episode her character is flirting with Michael, then Jayesh, then she is telling one of them to get lost.

[8] Amory told Inside Soap's Victoria Ross that Chris has not had any love from Kathy for a while, and Rachel is the only person who has paid him any attention, as well as seemingly understanding how he feels about the injuries he suffered.

He pointed out that her brother died in the plane disaster, Michael left the village and Joe relocated to Spain, leaving her alone.

[8] Amory said, "Rachel's never been afraid to speak her mind which is a great ego boost for him because she doesn't treat him with kid gloves.

[9] McKay said the news is "a bit of a shock" to the couple, and joked that her character's pregnancy was immaculate conception, as Chris had been told that he could not father a child because of his injuries from the plane crash.

McKay was proud of the scenes, calling it "a real fight" and said Rachel does not stand a chance against Kathy, who acts like The Incredible Hulk.

Amory explained that after being written out of his father's will and with a half-sibling on the way, Chris feels insecure about his rights to the Tate family fortune.

"[11] In 1999, Rachel was given a new love interest in the form of teacher Graham Clark (Kevin Pallister), beginning a storyline focusing on coercion and manipulation.

[12] Graham is initially presented as the ideal boyfriend, until he throws away Rachel's clothes and forces her to undergo a makeover.

"[12] She called Graham "clever" for being able to turn things around and get Rachel to believe that he is simply over protective because his first wife died.

[12] As Graham's obsession with Rachel continues, he tries to persuade her to quit her job and then plants drugs in her bag in order to get her fired.

[13] Pallister explained to Inside Soap's Tricia Martin "Graham thinks a woman's place is in the home.

"[13] He reckoned that Graham did love Rachel, but the "control freak" in him takes over and planting the drugs was a means to an end.

Pete ends it when Rachel's father David (Martyn Whitby) beats him up in the Woolpack car park after learning of the affair.

Rachel discovers that she is pregnant with Chris's baby and gives birth to their son, Joseph Mark Tate, on the same day her former stepfather Joe dies.

The character earned a reputation as "Emmerdale's scarlet woman" and a "husband-snatcher" due to her various affairs with married men.

Let's face it, married farmer Jack Sugden is no one's idea of a sex magnet, and neither is the morose Chris Tate, Kathy's ex- husband.