Can Vanessa help Charity?
As the Dales takes us back to Charity’s teenage torment, Emma Atkins and co-star Michelle Hardwick reflect on this heartbreakingly dark story…
It turns out that there’s a reason why Charity Dingle is so damaged, destructive and sometimes even diabolical – and it’s a secret of her past she thought she’d long since locked away. Charity is a person haunted by demons from her days as a homeless young woman – little more than a child – when she was forced into prostitution.
This week, Emmerdale takes us on a harrowing journey back to Charity’s youth, as she finally opens up to Vanessa and tells the story of what happened all those years ago. Inside
Soap ventured on a trip to the Dales to find out more from actress Emma Atkins, who plays Charity, and her on-screen lover Michelle Hardwick (Vanessa)…
Hi, Emma – did you know the full extent of Charity’s tragic backstory before now?
Emma I was just told that it could be quite dark – but I knew that Charity was an ex-prostitute, she was on the streets for quite some time, she was excommunicated from her family, and she was in a desperate state. So I was given little nuggets of information. Only when DI Bails turned up in the village a few years ago did the show say that there’s a dark past that we’ll be visiting at some point, which was exciting. Then I left to have a baby in real life, so they shelved it for a bit.
Michelle, how did you feel about Vanessa being the one to whom Charity finally reveals what happened to her in her youth?
Michelle Well, Vanessa’s the audience – that’s why she’s there. It would have been easy for me to be in the scene pulling a dramatic face and giving it large, but you don’t. You listen and be still, because it’s Charity we’re watching and listening to. It’s been a joy seeing Emma work – I’ve learned a lot from her.
How hard was it for you to get into Charity’s mindset when you filmed these tough scenes, Emma?
Emma Just very challenging, and the hardest thing I’ve ever done while I’ve been on the show, but I’ve loved every second of it. I know that sounds weird!
Michelle made it so easy as well. When you are filming scenes like this, you need to come back to the story and never wander too far to any personal emotion.
There’s some brilliant use of 90s music in the episode that helps to ground you in the time that all of this is taking place, isn’t there?
Michelle Yes, it’s so clever. There are many little moments of transition you may miss on the first watch, but will see second time round – like when Charity arrives at the hospital, and suddenly it’s a maternity wing in the 90s.
Emma Everything was spot-on – the set design, the music, everything. The radio starts playing Adamski’s Killer as Charity is driving to the hospital, and that connects her to that time.
What was it like working with Mica Proctor, who plays young Charity in this episode?
Emma Mica was incredible – she’s brilliant. She doesn’t have to speak, her eyes say it all. We didn’t talk about Charity together before filming, but I was there when she did some of her scenes, and I was blown away. Mica is a gorgeous human, too – she came in and was part of the team immediately. I have her phone number, so I must text her and say how brilliant she was.
Michelle Mica said she’d watched clips of Emma and was trying to mimic her mannerisms. She’d really done her homework, and she was fantastic.
Do you think that Emmerdale pushes the boundaries with some of the stuff it shows at 7pm – particularly in this episode?
Emma It’s so well-filmed and wellwritten that I think we’ve got away with it. There’s only so much we can show. There are bits when you say, “Oh my goodness, is that going to go out?”, but we have people working hard to make sure it’s okay for the time slot.
Michelle There are occasions when you know where it’s going, but you don’t see it – like with Lachlan holding a rock over Gerry in an episode recently. The moment when young Charity gets hit is powerful stuff, and obviously with a story like this, it’s going to be hard.
How did you shake off all this darkness after filming, Emma?
Emma My house is very hectic with my little boy Albert and my dog, so when I get home my responsibilities come railroading in! Albert is three, and he’s so funny, lovely and caring. We have chats where he goes, “Good day at work, Mummy?”, “Yeah, I’ve been crying all day?”, “Why?”, “It’s just my job”, “You have to find a new job!”. We were in
the newsagent, and he saw a picture of me and Charley Webb [Debbie], who he knows really well, on a magazine cover – how do you explain that to a threeyear-old? I just bought him a lollipop, and that was soon far more important!
“People work hard to make sure the show is okay for its time slot” EMMA