This article includes descriptions of mental health trauma and PTSD that some readers may find distressing.
Charity Dingle was arrested and held in police custody in tonight’s dramatic episode of Emmerdale (22nd February 2024), as her husband Mackenzie Boyd’s (Lawrence Robb) life hangs in the balance after he was stabbed by her.
Suffering with PTSD over the fatal Christmas shooting, Charity has barely slept in recent weeks, and when she has, she’s been haunted by night terrors.
As the ITV soap continued, Mack hoped to ease Charity’s stress by taking her son Moses to school, and he updated sister Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) on his wife’s progress.
But with worried Moira previously warned by Charity to back off, she failed to tell Mack just how much Charity was struggling.
Charity zoned out while working at the Woolpack, and Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) offered to stay behind the bar later to help out.
Meanwhile, Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and Ella Forster (Paula Lane) arrived and gently probed Charity on the doctor’s appointment she had wanted.
Apologising for her outburst at the surgery, Charity claimed she had simply wanted some sleeping pills, but no longer required them. Charity ended up fleeing the pub and heading home, where she was spooked by a noise outside.
Laying down on the sofa, Charity had another vision of Damon ‘Harry’ Harris (Robert Beck), taunting her from beyond the grave.
Liam and Ella told Mack that they were concerned for Charity, so he returned home to check on her. She brushed off his worries and asked him to leave her to rest, and once alone, she grabbed a knife from the kitchen for protection.
In her sleep, Charity was plagued once more by Harry, and a terrible incident unfolded when Mack walked in and tried to comfort her. Lashing out in what she believed was self-defence, Charity stabbed Mack in the stomach.
A traumatised Charity was frozen in fear as Mack pleaded with her to call an ambulance, before he collapsed to the floor, unconscious. It was Moira who found them, raising the alarm so that Mack could be rushed to hospital.
Charity was arrested, while Moira confessed to husband Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) that she knew Charity wasn’t well, and now blamed herself for Mack’s situation. Moira was also upset that Charity had lied to her about confiding in Mack over her mental health.
Liam relayed the news that Mack needed an operation to repair damage to his bowel. Moira sobbed as Mack was wheeled into surgery.
As she and Cain spoke about Charity’s decision to keep a knife with her in her sleep, Cain explained that Charity used to hide a knife under her pillow as an abused teen.
Charity was locked in a cell, devastated over what she’d done as she sunk to the floor. Will Mack pull through, and will the police see that she needs medical attention, rather than prison?
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