Emmerdale star Zoe Henry has been lauded for her performance as a rape survivor in the ITV soap.

The actress plays Rhona Goskirk and appeared in a tense episode on Tuesday showing her escape new husband Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather), who had raped her on their wedding day.

A barefooted Rhona fled to a police station and attempted to explain what had happened to police, before breaking down in front of nurses.

Zoe was praised by her co-stars for her emotional performance.

Isabel Hodgins, who plays Victoria Sugden in the soap, said Zoe was “utterly incredible”, a sentiment shared by Laura Norton.

Charley Webb, who stars as Debbie Dingle, called on fans to vote for Zoe as the best actress at the Soap Awards.

Viewers joined in on the chorus of compliments, while the creators of the episode were also praised.

Following the episode, the soap’s Twitter account shared advice for those affected by the issues raised.