Emmerdales Marlon Dingle and Rhona Goskirk leave village in April Windsor twist

Emmerdale: Mark Charnock on prepping for stroke scene

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Marlon (played by Mark Charnock) suffered a life-changing stroke in recent scenes on Emmerdale, with the character set to spend months recovering from his health scare. Rhona (Zoe Henry) will become a huge source of support to him as he tries to get his speech and communication skills back as well as strangling his mobility. Having lost her mother, Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth) several years ago on the ITV soap, April (Amelia Flanagan), will find it hard to see her father as a shell of his former self and noting the young girl is not herself, the couple could take action to ensure she can continue living a normal life whilst they work towards rehabilitating the Woolpack chef.

This theory comes from an interview the stars who play Marlon and Rhona, Mark and Zoe respectively, gave to Express.co.uk and other media about what the future looks like for their characters.

Speaking in relation to the impact the stroke with have on April, Mark explained it will be “traumatic” for her and Marlon as she was the one who found her father collapsed on the floor.

The actor said: “It’s traumatic. It’s traumatic for him to see her like that. It’s horrible for him because he is completely incapacitated.

“That’s a really traumatic moment,” he continued, with Zoe adding how her character sees April as a stepdaughter and wants to protect her from the hardship the family are going to face in the coming months.

“I think [Rhona] genuinely thinks and wrestles with, ‘Can I do this? [Look after two children and care for Marlon].'”

“‘Am I up to this? Do I want to do this?’ which is quite a guilty thing for her to admit,” the soap star continued.

Further explaining how Rhona will cope with supporting April, the actress said: “Kids are way more adaptable and accepting than we give them credit for.

“April comes through, she’s pretty strong and she is amazing. But you can’t erase the fact she’s lost her own mother.

“So there is a lot of things echoing for April. But Rhona is just going to do her best. Every day is a new challenge.

“I’m sure there will be more bumps further down the line,” she continued, before stating how Mary Goskirk’s (Louise Jameson) introduction has come at the right time.

Lot of things echoing for April

Zoe Henry

Zoe continued: “Mary’s arrival in the village has been great, even though it’s been challenging because they don’t necessarily get on.

“It’s that extra pair of hands to help and Paddy Kirk’s around. So there’s a network of people that Rhona’s leaning on and April’s got Bob [Hope] as well.”

However, the fact her mother Mary is now in the village means Rhona could think she and Marlon taking a break from the village would be detrimental to April.

As the youngster would have Bob (Tony Audenshaw) and Mary to lean on, they would act as parental figures whilst the schoolgirl’s father and stepmother are away.

The couple could decide they are going to go on a rehabilitation course to speed up Marlon’s recovery, without the struggles and challenges being seen by April.

After a few months, the couple would return to the village and Marlon would have progressed with his mobility a lot more.

Of course, a stroke is life-changing so he will not be the same character as before due to the impact the health scare would have had on other parts of his body.

Nick Hounsfield, a stroke survivor, has been working with writers and Mark to help portray the storyline as accurately as possible.

Speaking to Express.co.uk and other media, Nick explained the impact the stroke had on him, saying: “The biggest challenge, first of all, was getting my speech back.

“I guess going forwards, I think the thing that I hadn’t appreciated was actually the mental health side of it.”

How well do you know your British soaps?

How many times has Ian Beale been married in EastEnders?

What is the name of Bianca Jackson and Ricky Butcher’s son on EastEnders?

On EastEnders in 2002, who accidentally ran Jamie Mitchell over in his car which caused his death?

How many times has Corrie’s Steve McDonald been married?

What happened to Emily Bishop in Coronation Street?

Who murdered Maxine Peacock in Coronation Street in 2003?

Which incident in 1993 killed off four characters in Emmerdale?

When did the show stop being known as Emmerdale Farm?

On what date did Hollyoaks air its first episode?

What was the name of the much-loved Coronation Street pet dog who was put down in April 2020 after 14 years?

1996 saw the arrival of one of Hollyoaks all time bad boys and rival of Kurt Benson, but who was he?

Who is the longest serving character on Coronation Street?

Who shot Phil in EastEnders?

How many fires have there been at Corrie’s Rovers Return? 

Get out of my pub, you’re no soaps fan

You’re either too young to remember the big lines or have better things to do on weekday evenings 

Casual viewer 

You watch them sometimes so you kinda know what’s been going on 

Die hard fan

You love watching the soaps so much your entire week is planned around when they air

“And how tricky that is to navigate at times against not really understanding why I actually had a stroke,” Nick continued.

“Waking up many, many mornings and going, ‘Thank God I am still alive. What can I do today to try and make sure that doesn’t happen again today?’

“Those kinds of thoughts, and that is quite a struggle at times, without a doubt.

“But again, just try to reframe that and go, ‘Actually, I’ve had more good days than bad now and there is hope that that will just continue to improve.’

“So two years since it happened and I still think I’ve probably got another two years before I’m able to box away some of those demons from what’s been happening to myself.”

Mark also touched upon what it was like to film the scenes when Marlon had a stroke and the beginnings of his recovery.

The actor explained: “It’s been exhausting and it’s been very, very intense.

“Everything is obviously highly emotional, highly charged, every moment is absolutely crucial. So it is all high stakes.

“The cast have been fantastic and it’s been a very rewarding thing to be a part of. You feel honoured you try to represent so many people who’ve been through such hellish things.

“I think there has been a real sense of purpose around set.”

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV, with an hour long episode airing on Thursdays.

Source: Read Full Article