Here’s why soap fans recognise the Emmerdale detective in Charity’s case
Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) is going through utter hell in Emmerdale, having been sexually assaulted by the monstrous Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker).
Following a vicious campaign of blackmail, in which Todd learned that the baby Charity had recently birthed, Leyla, believed to be the child of her granddaughter, Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and her partner, Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant), was actually the result of Charity’s one night stand with Ross Barton (Michael Parr).
After having retired in response to Jacob’s HR reports against her, decided to use this information to land a payday.
When she learned that Charity owned half of the Woolpack pub, she demanded £100k.
Desperate, Charity tried to sell her half of the pub to Kim Tate (Claire King), then steal from her safe when Kim turned her down.
With no options left and nowhere to turn, Charity told Todd to do her worst and announce the truth of Leyla’s parentage at Sarah’s 21st birthday party, while hitting the bottle hard. With her feeling of control stripped away, Todd attempted to regain it and heinously sexually assaulted Charity after she passed out.
Charity headed to the police station and reported the crime in truly emotive scenes, where DS Reid took Charity’s statement as she bravely went through what had happened to her.
The detective went on to suggest to Charity that a physical examination to collect evidence would ultimately prove beneficial to building a case. Charity consented to the examination, determined to ensure Todd is stopped.
Afterward, DS Reid told Charity that Todd will be arrested for sexual assault.
Charity struggled with this, believing that Todd had committed a rape, yet Reid informed her that what had happened to her wouldn’t be legally classed as a rape.
Amid the harrowing scenes, fans noticed that the detective was an incredibly familiar face, with Emmerdale casting former Coronation Street star, Angela Lonsdale in the role.
Angela Lonsdale cast as DS Reid
Angela Lonsdale has a rich soap history, having played Curly Watts’ (Kevin Kennedy) wife, Emma Taylor, on Coronation Street for three years between 2000 and 2003.
She’s also racked up further soap roles, portraying DI Eva Moore in Doctors between 2007 and 2008 when she was apparently shot and killed, though she revealed she’d survived with a further, final appearance in 2011.
Angela has played four different roles in Casualty, appearing as Lyn Hopper, Helen Caffrey, Karen Sunderland and Joy, while also playing both ‘Scary’ Sue Buchanan and Gina Calder in Holby City.
Her last soap appearance came in 2022, when she turned up in Hollyoaks as Gill Holmes.
Charity’s dark new storyline
‘This has been one of the most demanding and significant storylines I’ve had to navigate as Charity,’ Emma admitted, talking about the dark storyline.
‘We know her as a tough, resilient character, but this trauma will expose a deep, raw vulnerability that has been heartbreaking at times to play.
‘I hope this storyline gives even one person the courage to speak out or helps others understand the quiet devastation of trauma.’
Emmerdale producer, Sophie Roper, also commented on the storyline.
‘Charity’s storyline will explore the impact of sexual violence, and though this heinous act is fundamentally about power, we’ll explore the complexities of how Charity processes her trauma when the perpetrator is a woman.
‘With little conversation surrounding female-on-female assault, we’ll explore the overwhelming feelings of isolation many survivors experience and will examine the disparity between the legal term sexual assault and the fact that many women in Charity’s position feel this minimises what’s happened to them, because they feel like they’ve been raped.’
