Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale star Emma Atkins has discussed the fallout of her character Charity Dingle's argument with Sarah Sugden, saying that Charity has been wrapped up in guilt over turning her son in to the police.
As Charity worries about Noah's upcoming sentencing over charges of stalking ex-girlfriend Chloe Harris, she's been unintentionally neglecting her granddaughter Sarah. The situation escalates after Sarah's birthday is forgotten, resulting in her threatening to leave the village.
Describing the tense scenes between the pair, Atkins said Charity missing Sarah's birthday shows that she's still human and struggling to come to terms with what's happening to her son.
"It makes Charity human, because she's so wrapped up in guilt and worry and prioritising Noah," she explained.
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"Charity feels she has potentially done the wrong thing by reporting Noah to the police. She's rallying round, trying to get Noah to come round to the idea that she did the right thing.
"[She] is so waylaid with that, that she doesn't even know what month it is. She has an argument face to face with Sarah, who blurts it out. Charity is mortified."
Atkins also teased the outcome of the argument and whether Sarah will be leaving the village for good. "It's love-hate with the Dingles. You can fall in and out of love in a heartbeat, but they always come around in the end," she continued.
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"I think Sarah's attitude is 'you've forgotten my birthday', but after a couple of scenes of them discussing it at length, Sarah does understand why Charity did it.
"She's hurt and rightly so – Sarah is her granddaughter and you're not going to forget your granddaughter's birthday. Although Charity has forgotten birthdays many a time!"
Atkins is however hopeful that the situation will resolve between Charity and Sarah. With the chance of Noah going to prison as well, mending things with Sarah will be beneficial to Charity.
"After this, certainly. She feels she has learned her own lessons," she added.
Emmerdale airs at the earlier time of 7pm this week on ITV and streams on the ITV Hub.
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Brenna Cooper is a freelance journalist, who currently specialises in entertainment reporting. She joined Digital Spy in 2022, writing TV and movies stories for the site. After graduating with an NCTJ accredited Journalism Masters from the University of Sheffield in 2020 she has since embarked on a freelance career.
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