Mark Charnock has confirmed there is more tragedy ahead as Emmerdale’s April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) attempts to navigate life after living on the streets.
This week, Mark’s character Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) attempted to get rid of April’s friend Dylan (Fred Kettle) by planting drugs on him. At first, Marlon allowed Dylan to stay in his house for one night, but it then turned into a situation where he could remain in a warm home until he became clean from drugs.
‘At this point, he doesn’t know Dylan at all, he knows he protected April on the streets, he doesn’t really know what that means’, actor Mark Charnock said, explaining Marlon’s motives for framing the young lad.
‘So what he’s got in his house, what he sees, having got his daughter back, he’s absolutely terrified about her running off again and having more horrors visited upon her. This lad, as nice as he is, is a drug addict in his house and he’s trying to shut off what he went through and make her safe.
‘It’s a clumsy way of doing it but from his point of view, I do get it because his only criteria is to make her safe, and while this unpredictable element is in the house, she isn’t, as far as he’s concerned.’
Before Dylan left for rehab, he returned to the Dales and told April where he’d be going. He said that Marlon has agreed to pay for the sessions, but failed to tell her that he planted the drugs. It was a huge sacrifice from Dylan – it painted him in a bad light, but it also meant there was less risk of Marlon’s relationship with April becoming even more fragile.
Dylan announcing that he wanted to stop contacting April left her devastated. It prompted Marlon to sweep in and comfort her, but is now taking a huge risk by failing to tell her the truth about Dylan and the ketamine.
Despite it looking as though the two characters have turned a page, star Mark has confirmed things aren’t going to get easier just yet.
‘It’s the eggshells thing, but they’re trying so hard not to push her away and bring her in at the same time, it’s this endless magnet thing of one way or the other, back and forth.
‘When we spoke to the charities, it’s very much like this – when the kids come back, that’s when the next equally difficult second act begins. You’ve had the horror of them not being there, you find them and now there’s the indescribable confusion about trying to understand what they are now, which is a different person than left the house.’
‘There’s a lot more to come. It’s going to be really rocky, up and down, uneven terrain for a good while yet, but you wouldn’t expect anything else really given what they’ve been through.’
Reflecting on Marlon’s relationship with Rhona and how April’s ordeal has impacted that, Mark said:
‘Having been through all this, it has really tested them again, they went through the Ivy stuff the year before so they were just getting back on their feet and then this happens.
‘To be fair to her, she’s under incredible pressure from him because he seems utterly focused on one thing and he’s been a bit lacking as far as the rest of family life is concerned.
‘Even though April is back, he’s still being a bit inattentive with the others. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s causing marital problems but it’s causing domestic stress.’
