Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) was out in Leeds with hope in his heart during last night’s episode of Emmerdale.
The beloved character hasn’t slept properly ever since daughter April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) disappeared. Yesterday, after waking from a nightmare that saw him find April’s dead body, Marlon was terribly on edge.
In the pub, he listened into a conversation taking place with Mary Goskirk (Louise Jameson), Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) and Gail Loman (Rachael Gill-Davis). They were discussing the fact April had been missing for a good few weeks now, which means there’s a chance she won’t ever return home.
This caused Marlon to snap and run off. In the pub back room, a chat with Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) saw him accept that their search for April could end horrifically, but then things suddenly changed.
Rhona got a message from their family liaison officer and rushed home. There, Anna explained to Rhona, Marlon and Mary that April had been spotted on CCTV. Once they watched the clip, the trio felt relief – it was the first positive sign they had received in ages.
Last night’s episode opened with Marlon in the centre of Leeds handing out posters. As Rhona mentioned while chatting to Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick), Marlon is utterly exhausted, and the lack of rest alongside high emotion is now starting to have a serious impact on him.
In the city, Marlon spotted a girl walking and immediately, he was alert. From the back, the girl had long dark hair like April – and poor Marlon thought it was her.
Marlon followed the female and approached her, but it happened at the same time Ross Barton (Michael Parr) appeared.
The girl rushed away which left Marlon and Ross alone. To his surprise, Marlon learnt that Ross had been out searching for April most days.
At first, the two characters argued and clashed, but then the two men realised absolutely nothing would be achieved if they aren’t on the same page. Accepting they actually have something in common by wanting April home, Ross and Marlon started to connect.
As the episode drew to a close, Marlon stuck another poster of April on a wall. Ross did his best to keep Marlon’s hope up but as they walked away, we saw April’s poster in a sea of other missing faces.
It’s a long, arduous, and dark ordeal for Marlon and it feels never ending for him – which has left us with one question.
Will April ever return home?
