Emmerdale has offered a first look into a special episode that will explore April Windsor’s (Amelia Flanagan) time away from home after she went missing on Christmas Day.
Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) was horrified to find that April’s bed hadn’t been slept in when he went to check on her on Christmas morning, and has been pushing himself to the limit in his search for her ever since.
It has been a terrifying time for Marlon and the family, as they have taken increasingly desperate measures to try and bring April home.
At the beginning of the year, they faced their worst nightmare when they had to identify the body of a young woman believed to be April, after her purse had been found in her possession.
It turned out not to be her, but Marlon was soon plagued with nightmares that April may be dead.
Recording appeal videos and offering rewards for information, April’s family have pushed themselves to the limit in their quest to find her.
On Monday, February 3, they finally get the news that April has been found.
Her ordeal over the past weeks will then be explored in the episode set to air on Tuesday, February 4, as flashbacks reveal what life has been like for April.
The harrowing episode will depict the teenager finding herself with nowhere to stay, and the heartbreaking and terrifying situations she finds herself in as she tries to survive on the streets.
‘April’s flashback episode is a heartbreaking depiction of life on the street as a teenage girl,’ show boss Laura Shaw said.
‘Continuing to take guidance from the fabulous team at Missing People, it was incredibly important that we didn’t shy away from the agonising journey that April would go through and their help was invaluable in making sure the episode has the authenticity required.
‘Amelia Flanagan’s outstanding performance makes this arguably one of Emmerdale’s stand out episodes of this year and promises to start a new journey for the character of April, forever changed by her time living on the city streets.’
Emmerdale worked with charity Missing People (Picture: ITV)
Actor Mark Charnock recently spoke exclusively to Metro about the storyline, revealing that Marlon and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) will struggle to comprehend April’s ordeal.
‘If they’re lucky enough to find her in the human haystack and get her back, there’s the challenge of keeping her,’ he explained.
‘Her life has changed so much in ways that Rhona and Marlon can’t begin to comprehend.
‘They’re going to have to deal with an entirely new human being or try and access the bits of her that they used to know and bring it forward.’
