Emmerdale legend Mark Charnock has been flooded with love as he celebrates 30 years since his debut on the ITV soap. The actor, who plays beloved chef Marlon Dingle, joined the show in October 1996 as part of the notorious Dingle family and has been a central character ever since.
A look back at Marlon's recent storylines
Over recent months, Marlon has watched his life fall apart as teenage daughter April was being groomed by Ray Walters and Celia Daniels to sell drugs and sleep with older men in order to pay off her and Dylan's debt. She eventually told Marlon and Rhona everything, but their worries didn't end there as Ray and Celia threatened them by running Dylan over, showing what would happen if they told the police.
Celia and Ray had also been running their own modern slavery business on the outskirts of the village, with Paddy Kirk's father Bear Wolf a victim of the cruel world.
Mark's emotional Instagram tribute
Now, Mark is celebrating 30 years since his debut in the Dales. Taking to Instagram, he shared a snap of his early days on the soap followed by a more recent one. He gushed: "30 years to the day since I made my #Emmerdale debut. It’s gone like lightning and I’ve loved every minute of it. That’s down to the people on this amazing gig, past and present."
"What a thing to have been involved with. What a place. What memories. What an honour. What a lucky, lanky lad. Thank you., @Emmerdale, you absolute beauty. Love you. X"
Co-stars react with playful jabs
His co-stars arrived in the comments to remind Mark just how long 30 years can feel. Mike Parr quipped: "I was ten when you started on the show. Hope that info helps :) congrats buddy x" as Bradley Johnson replied: "I was being made when you started the show….. hope that info helps Massive congrats Mark!! Xx"
Mark quickly replied: "Strangely, it’s just a really disturbing piece of information that I didn’t need in my head. But THANK YOU, you excellent rascal. Xx"
Reflecting on his first day on set
While on Lorraine recently, the actor reflected on his first day on set and shared: "When I got there, the Dingles were all naughty. It was just pandemonium at the time. We had a scene, it was a breakfast scene, and everybody's giggling."
"I thought, 'why is everyone giggling' and the first assistant director goes, 'we're stopping doing this. Who put a fried egg in Marlon's coffee?' Lisa (Riley) was just crying with laughter, and I thought, 'oh it's this kind of show!'"
