There won't be a dry eye in the house as next week Emmerdale viewers will see Marlon Dingle walk down the aisle as he marries Rhona Goskirk. But it wouldn't be a soap wedding without a touch of drama as the character, played by Mark Charnock, ends up in hospital before the big day.
Viewers have been gripped by Mark's performance of Marlon, who he has played since 1996, since he suffered a devastating stroke earlier this year. Since then, fans have watched as he's battled both the physical and emotional toll the serious health scare has had on not only him but Rhona, his daughter April and the wider family as well as his best friend Paddy Kirk.
But the bright spot in it all is that the on again-off again wedding between Marlon and former flame Rhona will go ahead in the first big soap get-together since coronavirus restrictions lifted. And the Manchester Evening News has been lucky enough to see the episode and we recommend getting the tissues!
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The week starts with an impromptu stag do for Marlon. But things take tries to get to his feet but his legs suddenly buckle and he falls to the ground. Paddy suggests that Marlon get checked out at the hospital and Marlon agrees - just as long as there’s no ambulance and Rhona is left out of the loop.
Later at the hospital, an utterly devastated Marlon is knocked for six when the doctor informs him that he’ll have to stay overnight, due to the results indicating extremely high blood pressure. Soon, the morning of the wedding arrives and an ecstatic Rhona is still in the dark and is keen to make sure she sticks to her promise to her husband-to-be and arrive to the church on time.
Marlon’s utterly bewildered when the doctor tells him that his blood pressure readings are still too high for him to be discharged. As Paddy tries to keep Marlon calm, they both become equally stressed out, getting them nowhere fast. Meanwhile, Chas Dingle has informed Vanessa Woodfield of what's going on and she sets about trying to stall the bride.
But her attempts end up offended her friend before Vanessa enlists Mary's help. But their attempts to delay Rhona from attending the church are thwarted and when she arrives for her nuptials, Rhona can feel that something’s wrong. Still hoping that Marlon will turn up, Vanessa reassures her
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As Priya heads out to make another phone call to Paddy, the wedding planner is awash with relief as Paddy whizzes a determined Marlon in his pimped-up wedding wheelchair towards her; both dressed in their wedding suits. Inside the church, Rhona concludes that something is wrong with Marlon just as Chas is about to tell her the truth, Paddy bursts through the door and wheels Marlon in.
At the top of the aisle, a determined Marlon gets up out of his wheelchair and willed on by his nearest and dearest, he makes it to his bride and everyone is emotional as Marlon and Rhona exchange their vows and finally become husband and wife. And it appears the emotions weren't faked.
"The script was brilliant, written by Caroline Mitchell and she's a favourite of both of ours and she writes in an emotive kind of way so I think the emotion came naturally for both of us when it was needed," Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona, told the media during a special press day at the Emmerdale village.
Mark added: "It was quite an intense atmosphere in the sense that Caroline had written this quite intense script and there's tense stories going on in the same ep so when I read it, I found it relentlessly moving all the way through. The Faith [Dingle] stuff is incredible amongst other things. So it was very easy to get there."
But there was a moment when Mark thought he may have been in an accident himself with Paddy in charge of wheeling Marlon - very quickly - to the church. "For all eight takes," the 53-year-old Bolton actor said when asked if there was a moment during filming that he thought Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy, may have let go of the chair.
"Eight takes!?" Zoe said in surprise to which Mark replied: "I think it was eight times because there was lots of different shots to do but on everyone of the takes he had to wheel [me] round. When I came in here [the church], it nearly went over. It tilted and he brought me back." But Mark said when they cut for that take, Dominic told his on-screen bestie that he was "always in control", however, he did admit it was "pretty hairy" to film.
And it's fair to say that both Mark and Zoe were pleased for the uplifting wedding scenes. "It's been such a difficult watch. Like Mark said, strokes have affected my family and I know many people in this room have known or had family members that it has affected so it's important that we see the light because people need that.
"Yes, soap reflects real life but it also needs to bring a little bit of joy." She added: "And I think the episode did it quite well." But she was also pretty pleased to get dressed up. When asked if it was nice to "play dress up" Zoe replied: "Hell yeah!" before continuing: "And do you know what was really good about this, we've not all been together for so long and I think this was the biggest cast and crew count we've had in here [the church] for two years.
"So people were just like [excitedly says Hi repeatedly]. We've not seen a lot of our fellow actors and crew members for so long and everybody looked gorgeous. It was a really, really nice time. And who doesn't like having their hair and make-up done?"
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