Emmerdale: Charity star opens up on channeling emotion as a mother amid tear-jerking plot
The 43-year-old actress, who has played Charity in the ITV soap since 2000, is mother to young son Albert with her partner Tom. Speaking to TV Life, she said she “only has to think” about him when doing a scene in order to tap into emotion. In Emmerdale, Charity is set to discover that her son, who she thought had been stillborn after she fell pregnant as a result of horrific sexual abuse years ago, is actually still alive in coming episodes. Now 27-years-old, Ryan (James Moore) will arrive in the village to meet her for the first time and his mother will struggle with the guilt of unintentionally abandoning him as she learns he suffers from Ataxic Cerebral Palsy. Speaking about the emotions she channels thinking about her real-life son, Emma said he is her “go-to in many ways”.
It was the hardest thing I’ve done on Emmerdale Emma Atkins
“I can’t even bear to go there in the thought process, what if?” she said. “I can’t even say it. “But he’s an amazing inspiration.” She also opened up about filming scenes in last night’s special episode which saw the truth about Charity’s abuse at the hands of corrupt police officer DI Mark Bails (played by Rocky Marshal) come to light. Opening up about the storyline, she said the experience of filming was “hard”. “[It was] incredibly challenging and the hardest thing I’ve done on the show,” she added. “I’ve loved every second of it,” she told the publication. “I know that sounds weird, but it’s always great to be given something where there’s whole host of things going on.
ITV Emmerdale: Charity Dingle star Emma Atkins opened up on channeling her experience as a mother
ITV Emmerdale: Charity Dingle star Emma Atkins also spoke out about sexual about storyline
Emmerdale spoilers: FIRST LOOK at this week in pictures Tue, May 1, 2018 EMMERDALE spoilers: 13 teaser pictures reveal what to expect for Laurel Thomas, Bob Hope and Brenda Walker on this week’s soap. Play slideshow ITV 1 of 13 In the Woolpack Backroom Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) confides to Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) she went to Bails’ house again
“Her past. The sadness that’s attached… So it was extremely difficult, but great team work,” Emma added. The Emmerdale stalwart continued: “You have to go to difficult places when you’re filming such dramatic scenes, you have to pull on personal emotions that you’ve experienced in the past. “It isn’t particularly pleasant but it’s part of the journey when you’re an actor and you need something to give you some impetus as an actor.” Emma also praised the writing of the storyline, in which the truth about her character’s abuse by DI Mark Balls (played by Rocky Marshal) came to light, calling it “stunning”. Explaining how she draws on experiences from her past when acting, she told the publication: “You always need to come back to the story and never wander off to personal emotion, but I can pick things that happened in my past. “I won’t go into it because it’s too personal but loss… you only have to have an image in your had of when someone passes away and it can instantly make you feel a certain kind of emotion that is very prevalent to what you’re filming.
GETTY Emmerdale: Charity Dingle actress Emma Atkins spoke out about tapping into the emotion
ITV Emmerdale: Charity Dingle is set to discover her son is in fact alive