Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) has been left devastated by the death of a patient in Emmerdale.
A special, one-off episode focusing on the character’s first placement day at Hotten’s emergency department aired this evening, with things not exactly going to plan for him.
His dream of becoming a doctor seemed to crumble from beneath him as the day went from bad to worse.
‘He’s been dreaming of this day for a long time. So I think that is his main emotion’ Joe-Warren told us.
‘I think it’s only later on in the day when the apprehensions start to show and he does start to feel a little overwhelmed. But at this point he is ready for it.
‘This placement is a big deal and knowing how much time and effort he’s put into getting to this point there are a lot of emotions that he’s facing.
‘But it is what he is aspiring to do so I think leading up to his first day there are a couple of moments you get the fact that the pressure is getting to him a little bit.’
He continued: ‘When I first went up to the meeting with the producer Sophie she told me there was going to be an hour long episode coming up dedicated to Jacob’s first day of placement on A&E, I remember being hit with all these emotions.
‘Knowing how many people have this high pressure job and I felt the pressure to really knuckle down with it and get it right.
‘Tackling this storyline scared me a bit at first but to know but they trusted me to tell it it means a lot and I do feel very honoured.’
One of his first encounters was with an elderly man, Henry, who had been waiting for hours to be seen by a doctor.
Unfortunately for him, there was other patients higher up the priority ladder – including a stab victim that he initially believed to be missing April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan).
After calling her parents to inform them of the heartbreaking discovery, he was scorned by his superior Doctor Todd for not only breaking patient confidentiality, but also providing a false identification.
Later, his prospective girlfriend Sarah Dingle (Katie Hill) was admitted with alcohol poisoning, something which thoroughly embarrassed Jacob.
Henry was a constant support throughout the chaos, providing a shoulder to cry on and to give some much needed words of wisdom.
‘Ultimately in these sad moments, Henry gives Jacob lots of hope and comfort and they have some really nice conversations’ Joe-Warren said.
‘I think they’re scenes that will connect with people. They were beautifully written scenes as well. It was a joy to film.’
Henry went on to explain that his wife had passed away, and was estranged from his daughter, who worked as a fire officer. In heart failure, he was a regular visitor to the hospital and was going through his treatment alone.
Jacob spent time in his side room chatting, and offered to go and make a cuppa. Sadly, on his return, Henry had passed away.
Truly gutted that the only person who seemed to have his back had died, he rushed out into the carpark and fell into a state of despair.
Doctor Todd caught up with him and reasoned that he was there for Henry in his final moments, explaining that his daughter had actually died as a child and he’d held onto a pre-conceived idea of what her life might’ve looked like if she’d survived.
For the first time, we saw the Doctor’s mood soften, and she told him that in time, he might have what it takes to make a good medical professional.
