Emmerdale star Emma Atkins used ‘personal loss’ to help film emotional Charity Dingle flashback episode

Charity Dingle

Emmerdale star Emma Atkins discusses a dramatic flashback episode exploring Charity’s horrible history with a copper called DI Bails…

Emmerdale star Emma Atkins has opened up about using her feelings of personal loss to help her film an emotional Charity Dingle flashback episode.

The highly anticipated episode is finally here and it kicks off when an old song on the radio transports the abuse victim back in time to when she was 14 and in the unscrupulous hands of DI Bails.

And now actress Emma has revealed that personal heartbreak helped her to portray her characters tragic past.

 

Charity Dingle, Emmerdale

‘I think you always need to come back to the story and never wonder too far to any personal emotion, but I can pick things that have happened in my past, which I won’t go into because it’s so personal but loss…’ she said at a recent Emmerdale press event.

‘You only have to have an image in your mind of when somebody passes away or whatever and it can instantly make you feel a certain kind of emotion which is very prevalent to what you’re filming.’

Emma added: ‘Having said that, I think all the history’s already there. Debbie – as soon as I worked with Charley, she makes me feel emotional.

Emmerdale Mark Bails Charity Dingle

‘So that scene where she starts the episode off in the hospital, seeing Debbie, that’s one of her offspring that she loves dearly and has made a right mess of bringing most of her children up. So it’s memories and it reminded.’

Charity Dingle’s flashback episode airs Tuesday 29 May at 7pm on ITV.

In a recent interview with Soaplife, Emma revealed how she switches off after filming such emotional scenes.

She said: ‘I have to because I have a little boy and a dog and my house is very hectic. As soon as I drive home with some music on, I get back to real life. You have to separate the two.’

Jenni McKnight

Jenni McKnight is a beauty, lifestyle and entertainment journalist, currently US Lifestyle Editor for HELLO! Online. She has also written for HELLO! Magazine, GoodTo, CelebsNow, Daily Mirror and Yahoo!  Her first big break came when she interned on the Guilty Pleasures showbiz desk at Metro newspaper. She has since worked on the online lifestyle team at Woman & Home and Woman and was Senior Content Editor at CelebsNow.