Emmerdale star Katherine Dow Blyton has shared her own personal connection to the latest storyline airing on the ITV soap.
Earlier this week, Marlon Dingle's latest health battle began as he suffered a terrifying stroke at home after just getting engaged to girlfriend Rhona Goskirk on his birthday.
The excitement of the engagement, which saw both Rhona and Marlon get down on one knee as they both planned secret proposals, however, soon turned to horror after a giddy Marlon had rushed home to pick up Rhoan's engagement ring which he accidentally left back at their home.
READ MORE: ITV Emmerdale fans in agreement as soap airs heartbreaking Marlon and April scenes
It was later confirmed after being rushed to the hospital that the chef suffered a stroke and needed to undergo surgery to remove a blood clot on the left side of his brain.
And Katherine, who plays policewoman and vicar Harriet Finch in Emmerdale, opened up about her devastating loss as the heartbreaking scenes played out on-screen.
Showing her support for the storyline, the soap star tweeted after the first episode aired: "My beautiful Mum died after suffering a severe stroke in 2016. It’s a cruel and sudden end to a life."
She then added: "Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the UK. Awareness is crucial. Act FAST. FACE.ARMS.SPEECH.TIME to call 999 @StrokeAssocNews."
Many Emmerdale viewers have been sharing their own personal connection to the storyline as well as praising Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon, for his harrowing portrayal.
And the actor, who has played Marlon for more than two decades, said he was "moved" by the response. He wrote on Twitter: "It's hard to know what to say to you all, other than I’m genuinely overwhelmed.
"Thank you for all your messages. It’s been so very moving to read. ALL credit is due to the astonishing #Emmerdale team, the @TheStrokeAssoc & the clinicians & survivors who’ve advised us. Thank you all. X"
The recent scenes have marked the start of a long-running story which will explore the journey a family goes on after a life-changing stroke. In a video to help identify the symptoms of a stroke, Mark said: "In tonight’s episode we saw Marlon have a stroke.
"Now strokes can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time and they happen every five minutes in the UK. 50% of survivors are dependant on others for their every day needs and sadly one in seven strokes are fatal.
"Hopefully there is some really helpful information we can take from Marlon’s story, the most important is the acronym F.A.S.T, we can use this to identify symptoms of a stroke in you or someone else."
