Surely it won’t be lovely Marlon?!
YOU DON’T RECKON MILD-MANNERED MARLON IS CAPABLE OF MURDER? THINK AGAIN, SAYS EMMERDALE’S
MARK CHARNOCK…
This story is the gift that keeps on giving,” grins Mark Charnock (aka Marlon) when we grill him on his alter ego’s murderous capabilities as Graham breathes his last this week. “It’s one of those presents that just opens up more and more, and at the centre of it is this amazing thing. When I first read the script, I couldn’t put it down – it’s a page-turner, and it’s thrilling!”
With Graham’s sinister machinations finally proving his undoing at the hands of a mystery assailant (see p4 for our in-depth report), there’s a week of gripping Dales drama ahead – and Mark is clearly delighted that his character is one of the murder suspects. While the affable pub chef might be the last person we would expect to deliver the fatal blow, Mark claims that Marlon is just as fallible as the best of them…
“He’s a Dingle, at the end of the day!” warns the much-loved star, who first brought Marlon to the village back in 1996. “And even though he’s often viewed as the softer side of the family, that fighting spirit is in his DNA, I think. My take on Marlon is that he was probably bullied by the rest of the family growing up, because he wasn’t like the rest of them. So he’s buried that poison deep, and now it’s like an oil well – it’s going to come out of him!”
From the moment Graham got together with Marlon’s former partner Rhona – with whom he has son Leo – Marlon’s back was up. But it’s the discovery that Rhona was planning on moving out of the village with their boy to start a new life with Graham that has pushed him to the very edge, and Mark appreciates his character’s pain.
“Marlon’s children are what defines him,” he shares. “Since his latest marriage to Jessie has fallen to pieces, his focus is his kids. His daughter April lives with him, and he has this blended family thing going on with Rhona, where they share custody. So Graham’s presence in Rhona’s life has put a hairline fracture through that safe place that Marlon has found for himself. He’s terrified that Graham will become a father figure to Leo, and that could lead Marlon to lose his mind in a confrontation.”
Having played Marlon for almost a quarter of a century, it’s no wonder Mark can sympathise with his character – and that also means he’s well aware of what Marlon might be capable of, if pushed…
“I’ve really liked looking into this part of Marlon’s head that I wasn’t sure was there – but now I think it might always have been there,” admits the actor. “Marlon is quite light a lot of the time, in terms of being in the pub and being silly and doing funny things that I love doing. So this is a dark gift they’ve given me, a loaded gun to play with and enjoy – and it’s brilliant!”
However, should it transpire that Marlon really is the one with Graham’s blood on his hands, it would still come as a major shock to Emmerdale viewers. Although the possibility of sacrificing Marlon’s seemingly perpetual likeableness as a result is something Mark is already braced for…
“I don’t think you can worry too much – you have to serve the story,” he chuckles. “People have their ups and downs in life, and behave in ways they shouldn’t. Me and Dominic [Brunt, aka Paddy] have had chats about this – in an ideal world you want to be liked, but what these things do is create a tapestry. It’d be dull if you were just super-nice all the time, and didn’t do anything controversial!”
I’ve really liked looking into this part of Marlon’s head…