Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk, has spoken out on the powerful male depression storyline he's at the centre of as spoilers confirm the village vet will make veiled goodbyes to his loved ones this week before leaving with the aim to take his own life.
Speaking to The Mirror and other press, Dominic has addressed the process of preparing for the "dark" storyline that will have "pinches of light" as Paddy overcomes his struggles.
Dominic said his ITV bosses went to great lengths to ready him for what was to come, even changing their policy on handing out scripts to cast-members.
He said: "I was told in August. I appreciated the fact that it was being brought in so early which is very unusual and I quite like getting the scripts every two weeks being a fan of the show and reading through it all, so to know what the story was months in advance was really healthy and it helped me to start colouring in and start drip feeding the beginnings and the kernel of the story.
"And also, it was a window into the mechanics of how it was going to work and who was being involved and the scale of it and it kind of transcends the normal storylines that we’re normally given."
"The only time I've had something like this before was when Aaron came out and and it mattered to people I remember an uncle that [had] generational bigotry and he watched it and went, ‘I understand that. I got that.’
"I was hoping that this story might do that, that it might actually make a difference and normalise talking.
"The one thing that will save you or help you, whether it ends with medication or not, is talking and finding out little things like that from the beginning and having access to the Samaritans and Andy's Man Club right from the beginning it made me feel involved."
Emmerdale worked closely with both Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club for Paddy's storyline.
The actor continued: "I don't like putting any input into any of the scripts I am definitely the pawn I move when people move and I say what people have written for me, but I really felt included and I felt a huge sense of responsibility on my shoulders to try and get it right.
"I've done my best, but I felt very looked after and very involved and it made me trust the whole process having a peek behind the curtain at the scale of the whole thing."
If you are affected by this storyline, help can be found at andysmanclub.co.uk or www.samaritans.org
