Emmerdale spoilers follow. This article includes discussion of sexual assault, which some readers may find upsetting.
Emmerdale producer Sophie Roper has revealed what’s to come for one of the show’s biggest ongoing storylines, as Sarah Sugden and her grandmother Charity Dingle continue to conceal the truth about what really happened to evil Dr Todd.
Sarah inadvertently sparked Dr Todd’s downfall earlier this month as she pushed her over during an argument in Charity’s home, causing a fatal head injury. This marked the conclusion of Charity and Dr Todd’s devastating sexual assault storyline.
In recent weeks, Charity has been taking the blame in order to protect Sarah – and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep her out of prison.
But with more dramatic developments ahead, will this be at the expense of her own future?
We recently caught up with Sophie on set at Emmerdale for more insight into the ongoing plot.
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Dr Todd’s funeral arrives next week, causing more turmoil for Sarah and Charity! Do we meet any of Todd’s family?
“It’s not something that we touch upon. The story from this point is very much exploring what this has done to Sarah and to Charity. It’s quite a unique and powerful story, as Sarah is a young woman who was probably at the happiest point in her life before this. She’s got this brilliant relationship with Jacob and she’s got her daughter too.
“But this one moment at the house with Dr Todd will change the trajectory of her future in the show irrevocably. Sarah is really struggling to come to terms with that – and it’ll be a real journey that we follow for her through this storyline.”
Was it always your plan to kill off Dr Todd after she’d assaulted Charity? Why did the show make that decision, rather than exploring justice in another form?
“Stories evolve all the time as we go through that process. Charity’s story explored sensitive subject matter and we were really keen to dramatise the pursuit of justice. That formulated so much of the first part of Charity’s journey.
“We were very keen to see that Charity went to the police and reported what had happened to her. We saw that Charity was believed and that a police investigation took place as a result of that. Because we know that – unfortunately for so many survivors – sometimes they don’t feel they can report this kind of assault.
“But the difficult reality is that, for the nature of this kind of crime, it can be really difficult to prove and to prosecute. We wanted to be truthful to that. It isn’t everybody’s experience but unfortunately for a lot of people, justice from a criminal standpoint doesn’t happen.”
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How did that affect how you approached Dr Todd’s death?
“It was really nuanced in its approach because Charity had that moment to confront her abuser, who had caused her so much harm, pain and shame. We saw the moment where Charity absolutely handed that shame back. That was a really powerful moment in the run-up to Dr Todd’s death.
“The death of Dr Todd isn’t something that was premeditated, but there will be a huge story off the back of that. We will absolutely see the consequences of it and that will be from a legal standpoint, but also in terms of how Sarah deals with it.
“Regardless of the heinous crime that Dr Todd committed, Sarah has taken a life and that’s going to be a huge story for her to come to terms with as well.”
Charity is now taking the blame for Sarah…
“Yes, it’s that ‘tiger mum’ instinct that fundamentally drives Charity, as is often the case with her and Sarah. We’ve seen that she often jumps in to try and protect Sarah, which was a powerful moment in that episode. But it will be something that we go on to test as the story develops…”
Sarah still doesn’t know that Charity has been hiding the truth over Leyla’s biological parents! How will that affect the dynamic between them?
“It’s going to test them, as this is the ultimate betrayal. This is a relationship and a dynamic where they are so important in each other’s lives. There’s so much trust, love and respect, so I think it will test both of those characters in ways we’ve never seen before…”
Is that partly why Charity is taking the blame – she wants to redeem herself for lying about Leyla?
“I think there’s probably an element of that. In the first moment, that decision was very much instinctive of the need to protect her granddaughter. Charity knows that Sarah has this life ahead of her – and wondered whether Sarah would be able to cope if the consequences of what happened might result in her incarceration.
“Charity is thinking: ‘I could take the blame for this, I can handle this’. That’s probably where that first instinct comes from, but of course mixed in with all of that is that secret that she’s carrying. So absolutely I think it will play a part in her thought process.”
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Will Sarah still view Leyla as her own once she knows the truth?
“Biology is one part of this, but Sarah will have viewed Leyla as absolutely hers. That’s the strength of the love that Sarah has for that child. Ultimately there will be moments of: ‘I wish things might have been different’.
“There’s lots to reconcile, but it’s lovely to see Sarah’s character evolving over recent months and years. She’s now a mother and she’s embarking on this next stage of her life. So in a similar way that we’ve got ‘tiger mum’ Charity so protective of Sarah, you’ll see that Sarah will absolutely take on that ‘Dingle tiger mum’ trait for her daughter as well.”
You’ve involved Serena in this story – is that part of the show’s efforts to rebuild the Sugden family again?
“Serena’s a really fantastic new character within the show and I think we’re absolutely re-establishing our wonderful clans. The Sugdens are a huge part of the show and the rural community that we enjoy and celebrate. Obviously Serena also has a police background, so it was really interesting to include her in this dynamic with Sarah and Charity.
“There are three incredibly strong women all holding their own in how you deal with this impossible situation. But Serena is an incredibly moral character. There’s a lot of trust between these three women, that we potentially will go on to test as the story develops…”
Did you ever discuss other potential killers for Dr Todd, or was it always going to be Sarah?
“Discussions of course evolve, but it just felt right to be Sarah. We didn’t want Charity to enact that kind of violence against Dr Todd. We brought her close to that point where she could take out her anger – because Charity’s capable of that and we’ve seen that in her history on the show.
“But it was incredibly powerful when she chose not to, because she did not want to become that monster. We handled that really sensitively.
“For Sarah, because of who she is as a character and the moral compass that she has, she embodies that ordinary ‘girl next door’. She’s that person that’s just going about their life and having a great time, and then one moment in one day completely changes that.
“I think that will really resonate with our audience because I think you’ll find yourself questioning: ‘What if that was me?’ One push, one moment and she’s become a completely different version of herself. We’ll get a lot of drama as we explore that and ehow Sarah struggles.”
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Could justice work its way around to Sarah eventually?
“It will. Through the course of this story, you see the consequences of what Sarah has done – and we’ll look at that from a legal standpoint. We’ll also look at that from how Sarah will view herself, how she struggles to confront that trauma and how she struggles to deal with that.
“It’s not a simple story of justice by any means. It’s complicated because many people might ask about the justice that Todd deserved, so the story opens all of that debate as well. That’s something we’ll explore.
“Ultimately in soap, we will always try to find those consequences. We look at those things that you might lose as a result of doing something wrong, as the soap gods would call it.
“But I think this story is one that is driven by truth, it’s driven by emotion. I think we’ll ground it in family, life and everything that Sarah has to face. But absolutely, there will be some legal consequences to this as we go through that will take on lots of different twists and turns.
“So I think as you watch and you see the story unfold, we do skew expectations. There will be unexpected developments in this story that hopefully keep it engaging and exciting as we go through.”
What can we expect from Charity’s future in the long-term?
“Charity has had some journey on this show over all of her years with us! Emma [Atkins, who plays Charity] continues to bring such brilliance to screen. But I think the joy of a character like Charity is that she doesn’t always learn, she’s absolutely made some similar mistakes along the years, but she grows as a person and I think we’ve seen that.
“Through the storyline with Sarah, she hasn’t always necessarily made the right decisions but they’re all coming from a place of love and that need to protect family.
“I think that’s why Charity’s character will be able to go on. There’ll always be story for her because she’s such a dynamic individual. She’s so driven by love, loyalty and family.
“We will test her – there will be things that she has to overcome. I wouldn’t say that we’ve only touched the surface, but there is so much more I would love to learn about that character and to see Emma tackle as an actor.
“So it’s pressure on us, really, to make sure we can keep finding those brilliant and dynamic stories for her. It’s a challenge but one I think we’ll relish.”
Will we see Charity cross paths with Sadie King when she returns?
“That’s all to come, but they will be living in the same village so stay tuned and see whether those old histories are reignited!”
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Will you continue exploring Charity’s connection with Vanessa as this story goes on?
“Absolutely. I think that relationship’s a really important one on the show. Obviously years ago there was a romantic connection there, but I think we’ve really earned the friendship that those two women have.
“Vanessa being a support to Charity through this story creates some really powerful material. It’s why we love that friendship and love those connections that we’ve built in the show. So definitely she’ll form part of the ongoing story.”
How will Mack deal with the situation as Charity continues to take the blame?
“I would say this will test them. Mack often is the one who’s having to respond to potentially bad decisions that his wife has made. What I can say is they’re an incredibly strong couple. We will fight for them to find a way through it, because for everything that Charity’s been through, for everything that they’ve done to one another, it’s been a really dramatic relationship and they’ve faced a lot.
“But I think where they’re at their best is when they unite to overcome things together. So I think we’ll test them but overall, it would be great to see them overcome that.”
Rape Crisis offers a range of support for women and girls who have experienced sexual abuse of any kind. Its free helpline can be contacted on 0808 802 9999 and the charity has websites available for readers in England & Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
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