Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) continues to move forward following her sexual assault in Emmerdale. The beloved character was attacked by Doctor Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) a couple of weeks ago. In the aftermath, while Charity went to the police, she was petrified to tell any of her loved ones as it would have meant that they learned the truth about baby Leyla. A conversation with Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) helped Charity see things differently, though. She told Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) that she had things 'rotting' inside of her that she needed to get out, and then proceeded to tell him about sleeping with Ross Barton (Michael Parr), becoming pregnant with his child, being blackmailed by Doctor Todd, and then being raped by her.
Mackenzie's Heartbreak and Support
'It's a lot to get his head around,' actor Lawrence Robb said, discussing how Mackenzie is feeling. 'Yes, there's the betrayal with Ross, but also the awful reality of what she's been through at the hands of Dr. Todd. Ultimately, he's heartbroken. He's absolutely beside himself with grief, both from the betrayal about Leyla's parentage and because his heart hurts for Charity and the fact that she's gone through all of this trauma and had to keep a secret for so long. He feels so much anger towards Todd.' Amid the overwhelming amount of bad news, Mackenzie has chosen to stay with Charity and support her while the investigation into Doctor Todd takes place.
DS Reid Returns to the Village
DS Reid (Angela Lonsdale) is back in the village next week only this time, she doesn't want to speak to Charity. She heads to Tug Ghyll to ask Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) – Caitlin's ex – some questions. Reid reveals that a serious allegation has been made against her ex, and a shaken Vanessa goes in search of answers after their chat. In the week, Mackenzie pops by to see Vanessa and reveals that Charity has gone missing again. As their fears increase, it's confirmed that Charity is actually at a rape victim support group, taking another step forward.
Doctor Todd's Fate
Doctor Todd currently believes that she won't face any criminal consequences for her actions because there is no physical evidence to confirm that she attacked Charity. The character is right, but she isn't going to walk away from this scot-free. While Caitlin won't go to prison, the ITV soap has confirmed that she will be murdered by someone in the near future.
