Emmerdale star Mark Charnock was left in tears over an “astonishing” Marlon Dingle twist.
Devoted viewers of the ITV soap will be aware that Marlon’s daughter, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), has been reluctantly selling drugs for Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) in an effort to clear her boyfriend Dylan Penders’ (Fred Kettle) debt.
It was soon unveiled that local farmer Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) was the brains behind the drug ring, as well as being Ray’s mum.
In recent episodes, April accidentally killed a man named Callum, who had paid Ray and Celia for a night with the youngster.
During Tuesday’s (November 4) special episode, now available to stream on ITVX, a nervous April paid a visit to her dad Marlon, with a shocking twist awaiting them, reports the Daily Star.
In the emotional scenes, April confided in her dad about the difficulties she’s been facing, with Marlon insisting they must inform the police about Ray and Celia.
As the two debated what action to take, villain Ray suddenly stormed in, shooting Marlon dead.
However, things were not as they appeared. As a flashback of April and Marlon’s day unfolded, it was revealed that the events were all part of April’s imagination.
Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon in Emmerdale, opened up about the emotional episode on This Morning, revealing: “It’s been a really dark year for Marlon and April. She was missing for so long, but she came back, he got her back.
“The hell that has been unleashed on her since, and what may or may not be unleashed on her parents, is nothing in comparison to what her absence was like.”
He continued: “Where we are right now, and with tonight’s episode, Marlon has no idea that she’s been through that.
“They’ve not been communicating. [Marlon’s] desperately overcompensating, like, ‘I want my girl back’. And because of everything she’s been going through, she’s protecting him by not telling him. She’s killed a man and it’s self-defence.
“In tonight’s episode, she just comes to speak to him generally and he’s so overwhelmed… The first two-thirds of the episode is a coming back together, it’s his little girl that’s back.
“And for the audience, who know what’s happened, the whole thing is teetering on this knife edge of, ‘Will she tell him?’ And if she tells him, it could change everything.”
Speaking about the episode’s shocking twist, Mark said: “It’s a big twist, and something happens that will pull the rug from under everybody’s expectations… There’s an astonishing shock.
“The producers told me about the episode and what was going to happen, but reading it was more shocking. I cried when I read it.”
As the episode concluded, April chose to keep her predicament a secret and gave her dad a heartfelt embrace before departing Smithy Cottage. How will April manage to escape from her grim situation?