Emmerdale star reveals a long road ahead for Marlon after stroke
Mark Charnock reveals more details about his character's difficult new journey.
Marlon Dingle is set to embark on a long journey with his health, as he suffers a sudden stroke on next week's Emmerdale.
The life-changing event happens just as Marlon and partner Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry) become happily engaged after a double proposal. Marlon heads back to Smithy Cottage to find the ring he bought for his fiancée, and this is the moment that everything changes.
The storyline will reflect the real recovery process for stroke survivors, and Marlon will struggle with the loss of his independence in the aftermath of his hospitalisation. So viewers should expect to see the character dealing with the after-effects of his illness for a long time to come.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press about the moment Marlon collapses, star Mark Charnock explains: "Suddenly out of nowhere he’s just hit by this kind of truck. Over a period of moments his world changes utterly, and everything seems to slow down for him, everything seems to just stop."
The actor continues: "He’s very aware that something’s very wrong, but there’s been no build-up really. Then he catches sight of himself in the mirror and his face has completely drooped on its right side. He collapses and is frozen, really, he can’t really move. He’s absolutely seized with terror."
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Asked whether Marlon knows what is happening to him, the actor says, "I think once he sees himself in the mirror he realises what’s happened."
"I’ve been speaking to people, I spoke to Nick [Hounsfield, a stroke survivor who helped advise on the story] about this actually – and other people at the Stroke Association – about this other voice, this sort of rational voice, almost like another side of your brain trying to take over and rationalise what’s happening. He begins quite quickly to understand what’s happening to him, which obviously only fuels the terror."
But while Marlon will understand his situation, he will be left helpless as daughter April (Amelia Flanagan) rushes to his aid and calls an ambulance.
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Charnock confirms that this will be an ongoing story for his alter ego - there will be no quick recovery for Marlon as Emmerdale commits to an authentic, realistic portrayal.
"He’s not going to get where he wants to be for a long time," the star explains. "We’re just at the beginning of his journey, he can’t work any more; he feels, wrongly, that he can’t be the dad he wants to be any more – which is everything to him – because of his incapacitation."
He added: "He's totally reliant on the people around him, the people who love him. He's devastated, his life is cooking, his life really is all about being able to use his hands. It's everything to him, his dexterity is everything, and all of that's taken away.
"He feels an absence in his own life, I think he feels like there's a hole where he used to be."
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As upsetting as the upcoming scenes will be, both Charnock and Juliet Bouverie OBE, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, are hoping that the story resonates positively with those affected by strokes.
"There is hope, and there is life after stroke and people can recover. And hopefully this storyline has just given people an understanding of the scale and impact of stroke," explains Bouverie. "It is very sudden, and it is very frightening, but there are things that the public can do both to recognise stroke symptoms but also to recover afterwards. So hopefully there's a message of hope as well about stroke."
Charnock agrees with this sentiment, and adds that there is some unexpected comedy sprinkled into the heartache. "There’s some lovely scenes with Paddy that are really funny, really well written, funny scenes in the hospital quite early on.
"There’s lightness; also there’s a great deal of hope that things can only get better from where they are. There’s positivity to be had from it too, so hopefully apart from it being distressing, apart from it being traumatic for the characters, also it will inspire [people] to get their lives back."
Viewers will see Marlon's storyline begin on Emmerdale next week.
You can find more information about stroke symptoms, as well as advice and support by visiting the Stroke Association website.
Visit our dedicated Emmerdale page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Soaps hub.
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