Emmerdale abuse plot shocks Emma
EMMERDALE star Emma Atkins has admitted she was shocked that scenes of child abuse were shown during last night’s episode.
The ITV soap aired a special flashback explaining how Emma’s character, Charity Dingle, was raped and beaten as a teenager.
In the emotional episode fans discovered that the baby son Charity had, which was the result of being raped by crooked cop DI Mark Bails, had survived – despite her thinking the tot had died shortly after birth. Detailing Charity’s heartbreaking childhood fans got to see her running from a flat after being punched in the face by Bails.
And in scenes reminiscent of Corrie’s abuse of Bethany Platt, a group of men were seen walking into young Charity’s bedroom while she sat nervously on the bed.
Talking about the shocking scenes being aired so early, Emma said: “I do think it was so well filmed, well shot, well written so we kind of got away with it being early, because there’s only so much you can show. There are moments when you go, ‘Oh my goodness, is that going to go out?’, but I guess that’s down to compliance.
“Going back to when young Charity gets hit, it’s quite powerful stuff and again I was a bit like, ‘Wow’, but obviously it’s aired.”
Reacting to the storyline twist that Charity’s son is alive, she added: “The impact will be huge and the audience will clearly be waiting for that moment.
“It is a big moment in her life, to discover her child did actually survive. You just have to be human to know that would knock anyone west, it’s such an enormity. The gravity of that is huge.”
Last night bosses revealed they have cast actor James Moore to play her adult son Ryan Stocks who is soon to arrive in the village.
And there is another shock in store as Charity will learn that Ryan has Ataxic Cerebral Palsy, a disability which affects his mobility and coordination.