Emmerdale actor Mark Charnock, famed for his role as Marlon Dingle, has sparked a wave of anxiety among fans with hints of “unimaginable horror” set to hit one family in the soap come Christmas as they are faced with a harrowing plot.
The storyline has already put Marlon and his daughter April Windsor (played by Amelia Flanagan) through the wringer, with her ordeal involving kidnapping and threats on her life, not to mention the devastation of learning her mother’s death was a suicide.
The drama escalates further when Marlon uncovers the truth about April’s terrifying experience at the hands of the sinister boxing promoter Jade (Twinnie-Lee Moore).
Tensions rise again between Marlon and April in upcoming episodes following the discovery of his daughter trying to purchase cannabis. What begins as a confrontation soon spirals disastrously, leading to an unexpected turn of events by Christmas Day that could alter their lives permanently, reports Leicestershire Live.
In a conversation with Daily Record and other media outlets, the 56-year-old star, who debuted as Marlon in 1996, revealed a shocking insight into an episode where he finds April’s room empty.
Commenting on the gripping storyline, he expressed: “I was very upset reading the scripts. Obviously it’s hopefully going to be a moving story but the scripts were so strong, you could see the writer’s personal investment in a lot of this stuff.”
He also shared reflections on the impending drama: “I was speaking to the producers and everybody’s like… it’s huge, isn’t it? It’s a huge thing. It’s the most unimaginable thing. Horrible, horrible.”
Mark hinted at a dramatic turn for Marlon when he realises his daughter is missing, saying: “So he’s checking her texts because she’s behaved outrageously to family members, she’s been really uncharacteristically rude and a little mean-spirited and just not her.”
“So he’s going through these texts and he begins to discover information that he had no idea about. She’s trying to get weed and stuff like that, which has shocked him a bit.”
Discussing Marlon’s parenting challenges, Mark said: “Part of the problem is he’s this very protective parent. I don’t think he’s over-protective but he’s missed the bit where she’s not in cotton wool any more, he’s missed the jump that she’s made and that, coupled with the fact she’s found out about Donna, has just made it a bit more volcanic.”
Mark went on to describe a tumultuous Christmas time that will leave the family devastated, he said: “This disastrous Christmas Eve where she’s got absolutely annihilated, she has this terrible Christmas where she causes all sorts of issues and problems and they’re just not meeting on a level playing field.
“The next morning he opens a present, April’s still in bed, and she’s got him this mug that he dropped not long after he had the stroke.
“The handle had come off and she stuck the handle back on. They turn it around and there’s a thing on the bottom of the mug that says ‘Things that are broken can always be mended.'”.
Mark concluded with the unsettling discovery: “He goes up – and she’s gone. There’s that moment that I can only imagine, that blank space where she’s supposed to be on that day of all days. It’s not a building horror.”
Mark commented: “There’s nothing right about that picture, her empty room on that day, no matter what they’ve been through there’s no way that room could or should be empty. And she’s gone.”
After April’s harrowing kidnap experience at the hands of Jade, Marlon begins to fear the worst when he can’t find his daughter, suspecting she might have fallen prey to the same cruel fate. Mark explained: “He wonders whether she’s been kidnapped again. Obviously your brain goes everywhere.
“But that’s as much as I can say right now. He goes to Bob first and goes to see other family members. Ross. There’s an instant little circle of panic that doesn’t help. It escalates, this storyline, so this is just the beginning.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX