Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) has been left feeling hopeful after meeting another victim of Dr Caitlin Todd's (Caroline Harker) in Emmerdale. The development comes after yesterday's episode, when DS Reid (Angela Lonsdale) visited Charity and shared the devastating news that the Crown Prosecution Service would no longer investigate Dr Todd due to lack of evidence. The news was heartbreaking, and all the fight Charity had in her disappeared in the space of a few seconds. Deflated, she headed upstairs to rest.
Mackenzie's Theory and Vanessa's Investigation
Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) then sat with Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) and put forward his theory that Dr Todd has more victims. He was certain of this because when Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant) tried to make a complaint against Caitlin, the surgeon went to great lengths to get him to drop it. Mack believed that if Caitlin was innocent, a complaint created by a resident doctor wouldn't have bothered her that much.
With a plan in place, Vanessa headed to the hospital to see Jacob in today's episode. They met with HR rep Carol, who was reluctant to reveal details about Dr Todd, but did allude to knowing a bit about the person Vanessa claimed Caitlin is. Unable to directly confirm anything because of her job, Carol subtly printed off a document and walked away. Vanessa picked it up, which led her to finding a woman called Helen.
Charity Discovers the Plan
By this point, Charity had discovered what Mackenzie and Vanessa had been up to. At the hospital, Charity tried to confront Vanessa, but grew curious when she was introduced to Helen. The new face was very reserved, and didn't want to tell Charity and Vanessa about her experiences with Caitlin. However, things changed when Charity quietly told Helen that she was sexually assaulted by the doctor.
According to UK law, the legal definition of rape in England and Wales is when someone intentionally penetrates another person's vagina, anus or mouth with their penis, without that person's consent. The official definition for what happened to Charity is assault by penetration, where someone intentionally puts a body part (other than a penis) or an object into another person's vagina or anus without their consent. Because a female offender does not have a penis, she cannot legally be charged as the principal offender of rape. Assault by penetration is an indictable-only offence, which means it can only be tried in a Crown Court, and it carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Helen Opens Up
Charity's confession prompted Helen to open up. She revealed that after she rejected Dr Todd's attempt to kiss her, she too was attacked. This led to Caitlin making a complaint against Helen in an attempt to cover up what happened. Charity and Vanessa helped Helen see that if she spoke out, they could work together and get Dr Todd convicted. Helen knew they were making a very good point, but didn't confirm whether she'd be comfortable telling someone else what happened. Even though Charity could sense Helen's hesitancy, she still allowed herself to feel a tiny bit hopeful again.
Unfortunately, we know that Dr Todd won't go to prison for her crimes, as a flashforward has confirmed someone will murder her.
