Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle in Emmerdale, has opened up about his future on the ITV soap and admitted he still feels 'anxiety' about his job, as he marked 30 years in the role.
The 58-year-old actor joined Good Morning Britain live from the Emmerdale set to speak to hosts Ranvir Singh and Kate Garraway about his long-standing portrayal of Marlon. The appearance coincided with Emmerdale's 54th birthday on Friday, October 16.
Three-month contract turned into 30 years
Introducing the actor, Ranvir said: "Congratulations, Marlon Dingle himself, Mark Charnock, live from Emmerdale. Thank you for sharing this milestone with us. You have been part of our lives for so long, it's wonderful."
Mark joked: "I'm so sorry", before adding: "Thank you very much, 30 years you say it out loud and it seems surreal really, yet it doesn't make any sense as I'm only 28". The actor revealed he landed the role in 1996 but was initially supposed to stay on the show for only three months and hoped to get his contract extended.
Mark explained: "I got the job on my 28th birthday. I got the phone call, and I remember from that very moment until the moment I walked on set over there at the Dingles, just feeling a terrible fear of blowing it, thinking it's a three-month contract."
He added: "I thought to myself, 'If I could make this work, if I could just get another six months out of it,' and then suddenly 30 years went by."
Never taking the role for granted
Paying tribute to Marlon's hard-hitting storylines over the years, Kate told Mark: "It's incredible, mind you, as Marlon you have packed a lot in to be fair, Mark", before adding: "Five weddings, all sorts of drama over the years, National Television Award for that episode where Marlon suffered a stroke. Which I imagine was a very moving thing to get your teeth into."
Ranvir asked: "Can you remember the moment where you thought, I'm in now; I'm part of the furniture; this is my life. A sort of sense of comfort that many actors don't get because it's job to job to job, which I guess is part of the joy of it, but for you, when was the moment you thought 'I'm in, I'm here, I'm done'?"
Opening up about not assuming job security at the ITV soap, Mark replied: "I think the important thing is to never think that 'I'm here, I'm part of the furniture', because once you start thinking that, there is a danger you start taking it for granted."
He continued: "Me and all the people that really love and care about the show want it as good as can be, but the important thing is the length of your contract. If you think beyond that, you're cooked.
"So for me I've got a lot of anxiety about the job, still, and I'm pleased about that. I want to worry about it because it keeps you on your toes; I have never taken it for granted in that way."
Christmas episodes already filmed
During the interview, Mark also confirmed that Emmerdale had now filmed their Christmas episodes, but failed to tease any upcoming storylines, so viewers will have to wait to see what happens.
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 8pm on ITV and ITVX. Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6:30am on ITV and ITV.
