Sarah Sugden has finally learned the devastating truth in Emmerdale. During Friday's (September 4) explosive episode of the ITV soap, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) shattered her granddaughter's world by revealing that baby Leyla is not her biological child.
Viewers will recall that Charity had a liaison with ex-lover Ross Barton (Michael Parr) last year following a heated row with Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), which led to her becoming pregnant. In a frantic attempt to conceal her infidelity, Charity decided to deceive everyone by claiming that the surrogacy arrangement she had undertaken for Sarah and Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant) had proved successful.
Dr Todd's deadly secret exposed
The infant secret remained hidden throughout the entire pregnancy, and Charity ultimately delivered and passed her daughter to Sarah and Jacob. However, Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) uncovered that the little one wasn't genuinely Sarah and Jacob's baby.
The villainous medic extorted Charity for months in a chilling plotline that concluded a fortnight ago when Dr Todd struck her head and perished after being shoved by Sarah. When DS Thea Ramsden (Chelsea Edge) turned up to probe Todd's demise, Charity promptly confessed that she was culpable.
Charity's confession and Sarah's reaction
In latest scenes, the detective returned to the village and escorted Charity to the station for further interrogation after revealing that she had identified some inconsistencies with her account. Ramsden's team had established that the scratches on Charity's arm originated from Dr Todd's non-dominant hand. In the immediate wake of the death, Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) had used Todd's lifeless hand to scratch Charity's arm in order to fabricate physical evidence of a self-defence struggle.
Back in the village, Sarah was in a complete panic over what might unfold next regarding her grandmother. When Charity arrived home, a distraught Sarah concluded that the only solution would be to hand herself in to the police. She headed out of the house towards the car, with Mack and Charity desperately chasing after her.
Actress Katie Hill hints at what's next
Charity argued that she deserved to be imprisoned because of the terrible things she had done, leaving a bewildered Sarah to remind her grandmother that she had given her the one thing she most wanted in this world – a child. Realising she had run out of time, Charity blurted out to Sarah that baby Leyla isn't her daughter.
Viewers will have to wait to discover what happens next, but actress Katie Hill has hinted that further drama is on the horizon. Katie revealed: "In Sarah's eyes, this is the end. I don't think she believes she will ever be able to forgive Charity. The dynamic between the two characters has shifted completely.
"Sarah is taking charge now, and while it's obviously devastating for Charity, Sarah just can't see a way past this. From this moment on, as awful as it sounds, Charity is essentially dead to her. She doesn't want Charity to have anything to do with her or Leyla. Sarah is setting very strict boundaries, she's nothing to her now.
"I won't give too much away, but Sarah is not messing around. She wants Charity to face the consequences. We'll see Sarah struggle, but she's determined to make sure things go according to her plan. It's going to be a very difficult time for Charity."
Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 8pm and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX.
