Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt has opened up about his heartbreaking baby storyline.
The soap star, 48, has revealed that his kind-hearted character Paddy Kirk “gives up hope” when he first hears that his unborn baby has health problems.
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In scenes that air on Thursday 14 June, viewers will see an anxious Chas Dingle arrive at her own baby shower and promptly burst into tears.
Chas is choked as she explains to Paddy the devastating news about their baby and crumples into Paddy’s arms.
Far from being the strong one, however, Paddy breaks down, too. The scenes are guaranteed to make ITV viewers sob.
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The parents-to-be then have to make a huge decision about their baby.
Chas was recently told that their little girl has bilateral renal agenesis, a rare condition which occurs when kidneys fail to develop in a foetus.
This means that the child has no chance of survival as there is no cure.
The couple attend another scan together and Paddy hears it confirmed that their child won’t survive.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Dominic says: “As soon as Paddy hears that it’s correct, he gives up hope straight away. He says the baby is suffering and they need to stop this now.
“But some couples do decide to take the pregnancy to term in order to give the child that time. Even if it’s just an hour, an afternoon or a day, that is that child’s life and it deserves that small life. So Chas says maybe they should do that.”
"That baby's lucky to have you two."
– Aaron Dingle, on Paddy and Chas. #Emmerdale pic.twitter.com/qlLtsiEmAa
— Emmerdale (@emmerdale) June 4, 2018
He continued: “They decide that they’re having the child and that nobody is allowed to see them as victims. They decide to be positive for the baby and themselves.
“There will be difficulties and heartbreaking periods, but they decide this is what they’re going to do and they’re going to approach it in a positive way.”
The Macclesfield-born star also revealed he’s “over the moon” to be telling the story.
“Thank God I’m not going through it in real life, but it’s utterly fascinating and I hope we can do it justice,” he said. “It’s a really quite unique and harrowing situation to be in.”
Dominic recently admitted that he could relate to the storyline in a small way, as his own son needed heart surgery just months after being born.
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