Emmerdale fans have been impressed by the soap’s use of a signed communication programme, praising cast members for learning how to use it to ‘speak’ with Rhona Goskirk and Marlon Dingle’s son.
Marlon (played by Mark Charnock) was seen signing to Leo, who has Down’s Syndrome, in scenes with Makaton earlier this week.
And in last night’s second episode of the ITV soap, Pete Barton (Anthony Quinlan) had a go at letting the young lad know he liked his toy.
But even though Pete flubbed his lines, it seems like lover Rhona (Zoe Henry) still appreciated the touching effort.
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“I want to meet your toy,” Pete tried to express, to stifled giggles from Rhona.
Informed he was actually signing “I want to same your toy”, Pete had another try.
“That’s not what you said,” teased Rhona as a frustrated Pete soldiered on with another attempt.
Rhona added: “It’s great that you’re doing all this but you need to relax – he picks up on tension more than most.”
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Fans agreed the depiction of Makaton in storylines was a splendid piece of scriptwriting, adding depth to the characters and their relationship.
So excited to see makaton being used in #emmerdale #ITV
— Becky Kay (@_RKay95) August 30, 2018
We do makaton at my nursery and the kids love it. It is meant to be used as a communication tool alongside speech as I understand and is different in that respect from BSL.
— Gemma (@doweknowmo) August 30, 2018
@emmerdale Love the fact that it’s been written into the show to communicate with Leo using Makaton. Well done to the cast for learning this @ZoeHenry03, @AnthonyQuinny
— Farat Johnson (@FaratJohnson) August 30, 2018
Loving Pete’s dedication to Rhona and Leo ❤️ @emmerdale
— laura (@LauraaCowell) August 30, 2018
Makaton, which uses both signs and symbols, was also previously used in Emmerdale to explain to Leo that Pete would be moving in with him and his mum.
– Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays
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