Emmerdale has aired more heartbreaking scenes as Helen opened up to Charity Dingle about the terror Dr. Caitlin Todd had caused while working at the hospital. Earlier this year, on the ITV show, Dr. Todd (Caroline Harker) bullied trainee Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant) at the workplace, before setting her sights on other residents of the village. She blackmailed Charity (Emma Atkins) regarding Leyla's parentage and then sexually assaulted her, before moving away to start a new life in Sheffield.
Charity's vow to gather evidence
Tuesday's (21 July) visit to the Dales began with Charity vowing to gather evidence against Todd after she learned that the police investigation into the surgeon's crimes had been dropped following a lack of evidence. Charity, who had been to a support group for her assault, insisted she was "fine" by the update as Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) and Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) prepared to approach Jacob about Todd's conduct at the hospital, including whether there were any other victims.
At the hospital, Charity soon caught wind that Mack and Vanessa were working together and headed to find out more. As she criticised Vanessa for her sneaky behaviour, a worker named Helen overheard that they were talking about Todd. As Helen prepared to leave the room after becoming overwhelmed, Charity shared that Todd had raped her, too. Helen soon recounted her story and said that Todd had sexually assaulted her after she turned down her advances.
Helen's visit to the village
On Wednesday (July 22), Helen arrived in the village to visit Charity, where she explained more about her life and how deeply she was affected by the horror Todd inflicted on her. Charity hoped in her heart that their conversation would prompt Helen to confirm she would go to the police, but Helen didn't want to report Todd. She explained that she didn't want to revisit the nightmare in her past, and wants to focus on moving forward and healing. Charity was heartbroken, but completely understood what Helen was saying. After Helen left, Charity couldn't hold back her emotions any longer and broke down in tears.
Who plays Helen in Emmerdale?
The newcomer Helen is portrayed by actress Nicole Evans, who is perhaps best recognised for her appearances in the 2011 movie Captain America: The First Avenger as one of the USO dancers, which starred Chris Evans in the lead role and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. In 2019, Nicole arrived in Hollyoaks as Rochelle, a romantic interest of Luke Morgan (Gary Lucy), but their relationship failed to launch. He was irritated by her loud and rather strange laugh and left the date with Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) by his side, and Rochelle was never seen in Chester again. Away from soaps, Nicole also appeared in Netflix series The Sandman, ITV drama The Bay, and Amazon Prime movie Suicide Kelly - amongst others.
Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX. If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or by calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999.
