When Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) realised on Christmas Day that his young daughter April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) had gone missing, I realised the Emmerdale storyline would play out one of two ways.
Either April would be found in a matter of days, and the situation wouldn’t cause a huge impact on her family, or she would be gone for weeks, forcing Marlon into a desperate state of limbo as he prayed for some answers.
I hoped it would be the latter, knowing how vital it would be to tell an in-depth storyline about a missing person. This is exactly what happened, and it certainly paid off.
We learnt in yesterday’s episode that April – played so perfectly by Amelia Flanagan – disappeared on Christmas Day after finding out she had become pregnant. Keeping this secret, on top of learning how her biological mother Donna died, caused her to take off and head to the centre of Leeds.
At first, April headed to a hotel in search of a room. The youngster had cash, but the majority of it went when she learnt from the receptionist a bed on Christmas Day would be over £80.
With her friends busy over the holidays, April quickly realised she was on her own.
The instalment covered six weeks of April’s life in the space of half an hour, but the past six weeks in our time highlighted the utter despair and desperation Marlon has been through while waiting for news on his little girl.
According to the charity Missing People, 79% of children are found within 24 hours, and 90% are found within two days. Less than 2% of children will be missing for longer than a week.
This means there would’ve been every possibility Emmerdale aired this storyline for a couple of days, but extending it over the end of 2024 and then the start of 2025 has truly captured the intensity of Marlon and April’s ordeals.
What began as a small search in the village quickly spiralled into a police matter for Marlon and Rhona (Zoe Henry). The family were assigned a liaison officer, who updated them with information on the search and possible sightings of April – though that didn’t happen much.
At first, multiple members of the village were willing to give up their time to search for signs of April in Leeds. As the days ticked by though and still she hadn’t returned, Marlon realised everyone had started doing something he wasn’t able to do – carry on with their lives.
Putting Marlon at the centre of this was – without a doubt – the right decision. I have always loved Marlon and it’s perhaps because he is so normal. His day to day challenges before this were managing April’s mood swings as she got older or working through his marital woes with Rhona.
Marlon’s love for his daughter shines every single day and I adore that about him, so having her suddenly disappear without a single word of warning was always going to utterly destroy the character.
Mark Charnock proved during the stroke storyline that he is one of soapland’s best ever actors.
His portrayal of a broken father wanting answers about his missing daughter hit me right in the heart, so much so I even found myself feeling an element of relief when I discovered the day of April’s return.
It was the small details in the standalone April episode that helped highlight what thousands of homeless people experience every single day. As she took to the streets, April’s appearance changed.
She wore layers to keep warm and without an ability to properly have a shower and clean herself, she quickly turned into someone many people refuse to make eye contact with, let alone even look at long enough to realise she’s a school girl.
Over the next few days, Marlon will attempt to reconnect with April, but he will come to understand that the little girl who left him on Christmas Day is not the same person who has returned.
April watched her friend get stabbed and gave birth to her stillborn baby in the toilet of a gym – the innocence she carried before this will take a while to return – if it ever does.
Reflecting on the instalment and what’s to come for April, Kate Graham, Head of Communications at the charity Missing People, said: ‘Missing People were pleased to help Emmerdale writers with April’s storyline, ensuring it reflects the harsh realities of life on the streets for a girl her age.
‘The writers have skilfully incorporated details like changes in appearance priorities and the feeling of invisibility. Amelia has brilliantly brought these nuances to life.
She added: ‘When a child goes missing, families feel their world stops until the child is safe at home. However, the underlying issues often remain unresolved, leading to ongoing challenges. Parents may become overprotective or struggle to understand their changed child, who may feel they have grown up too quickly. Marlon, Rhona, and April will need support.’
‘Thankfully, it’s rare for a child April’s age to go missing for long. We hope children considering leaving home will seek help first.’
Emmerdale has once again completely excelled at telling a powerful narrative that is guaranteed to have impacted people in one way or another.
It was a brave move to tell the story in such detail, but with soapland changing more and more, it also served as a reminder that taking risks like this is more important than ever before.
