Naomi Walters is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Karene Peter. After making an uncredited appearance on 14 June 2022, she began appearing regularly a month later. She was introduced as the estranged and difficult daughter of Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin) whose first major storyline sees her involved in an attack against village local Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler). The reaction from locals sees her ostracised, but despite their distaste for her, Naomi's characterisation remains bolshy and argumentative.
Throughout her tenure, Naomi is shown to be a feisty, stubborn and strong-willed character. She has various feuds, including spats with her family, Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker), Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry) and her bosses at the Woolpack. She is also conned by Alex Moore (Liam Boyle), which shows a vulnerable side to Naomi when she is devastated by his lies. Peter announced her decision to leave Emmerdale in April 2023, with her exit airing on 6 July 2023. Viewers were not a fan of Naomi, with many being unappreciative of her nasty nature. However, Metro writer Sue Haasler appreciated that she is "a headstrong young woman who insists on making her own decisions in life".
Casting and characterisation
Channique Sterling-Brown was among the actresses to audition for the part of Naomi, but Karene Peter was ultimately chosen for the role. Peter made an uncredited appearance as Naomi on 14 June 2022, with her first credited appearance airing on 5 July 2022. Peter said it was surreal to be joining Emmerdale due to having watched the soap as a child. She felt like she had been "been transported into [her] TV". She was cast by Faye Styring, Emmerdales casting director, who knew she Peter would make an impact on the series. Naomi was introduced as the daughter of established characters Charles (Kevin Mathurin) and Esme (Eva Fontaine), and the younger sister of Ethan (Emile John). Naomi was initially referenced on the soap in October 2021 when Esme mentions her to Charles. Her backstory involves being put up for adoption by Esme, who was cheated on by Charles and suffered from postpartum depression. Esme and Naomi later met up, but Charles had initially refused to meet her.
On her character, Peter said that Naomi has "got a bit of an edge and she's a little bit misunderstood". She is "a troubled and troublesome soul" who is going through an angsty and rebellious period at the point of her introduction. Peter clarified this is nothing to do with her being adopted. She said that Naomi's adoptive family are caring and that she grew up in a loving family unit. When she arrives on the series, she does not make many friends due to her argumentative nature. Peter opined that the reason for Naomi's rebellious streak comes from abandonment issues with her biological parents. She explained that while Naomi's relationship with Esme had improved from when they first met, it was not the "rose-tinted, fairytale, mother/daughter relationship" that she wanted. Esme believes that she is closer to Naomi than she actually is. Charles initially not wanting to know Naomi had also given her a bad impression of him.
Development
Relationship with her father
When Charles learns that Naomi has gone missing, he feels responsible for her disappearance so he hunts for her. He discovers her working in a bar, arguing with her boss. Charles defends her in the argument and knocks her boss over. On the scenes where Naomi meets Charles, Peter said: "Charles is there and has been looking for her, unbeknownst to her. He's been watching this interaction between her and her manager take place and it escalates to the point where he intervenes. In that intervention, he blurts out that Naomi is his daughter. So that kind of shocks her to the core a little bit. She doesn't know how to react to it in that moment." Mathurin explained that Charles did not plan on revealing that he was Naomi's father in that way, but afterwards, he affirms that he wants to get to know her. However, due to Charles being an empathetic character, he would go at the pace Naomi allows the relationship to go at, and if she did not want to know Charles, he would respect that.