Emmerdale’s Marlon Dingle star teases ending to ‘never done before’ storyline on soap
EXCLUSIVE: Emmerdale's Rhona takes drastic action next week when she stands up in court accused of kidnapping Ivy and Mark Charnock has teased how the controversial storyline will end
Emmerdale’s Mark Charnock has teased how the current controversial baby storyline will end.
In April 2023, Gus Malcolms (Alan McKenna) arrived in the village with his wife Lucy (Charlotte Asprey). Struggling to naturally conceive a child of their own, Gus asked ex-wife Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) if he could use their frozen embryos to have a baby with Lucy.
While Rhona refused to give them permission to use the embryos, Gus forged her signature and they went ahead with the transfer. Lucy tragically died during childbirth and now Rhona has formed a connection with her biological daughter.
Last week, Gus told Rhona his plans to officially leave the village with Ivy. Desperate to keep her daughter, Rhona fled with Ivy and planned to start a new life with her in Canada.
The police eventually caught up to Rhona and arrested her for kidnapping. Next week, Rhona makes a shocking move when her court date arrives.
The controversial storyline has had viewers on the edge of their seats as they struggle to choose a side. In an exclusive chat with Daily Star and other press, Zoe said: “There’s no winners at the end of the day so when you’re in a situation like that, there’s so many sides to it and so many ways you can come at it from.
“I think it’s controversial and I think people are enjoying that you can be on anyone’s side on any given day.” As the storyline has never been portrayed on a UK soap before, Marlon Dingle star Mark admitted the cast have no idea how it’s going to end.
The 55-year-old explained: “The most important thing is none of us have ever known where it’s going to end up. It has been a day to day thing of getting new scripts and going, ‘Oh right it’s going in that direction in this half an hour’ and then it’ll change again.”
The soap star added: “It’s been fascinating to be part of it and just watching people take quite strong opinions on it. Even from a subjective character point of view, your empathy does swing from one person to the other.”
One thing the actors love about the storyline is the presence of a baby on set. “It’s the best,” gushed Zoe. “I get animals and babies. I just have the best job.” The trio have worked with two different babies since the storyline began, with Zoe branding them both an “utter delight”.
Alan echoed his co-star’s thoughts, adding that having a baby in the scene takes it to a new level. The actor explained: “If you’re doing a scene and you’ve got a baby in your arms, it takes the scene somewhere you can’t go as an actor without that there. It’s amazing.”