Emmerdale character Irene Stocks has died, but who is she and what is her connection to the Dingle family?
In tonight’s episode (Monday, January 24) Ryan received news that Irene had died and was devastated.
But what is her relation to Ryan?
Who is Irene Stocks in Emmerdale? Charity’s backstory
Irene Stocks is Ryan Stocks adoptive mother.
In 1990, 14-year-old Charity Dingle struggled after giving her baby daughter, Debbie, away.
Charity’s father Obadiah threw her out and she began working as a prostitute for money.
Charity was often arrested by police officer Mark Bails.
One night, off-duty Mark offered for Charity to come back to his for a chat, but he raped her.
Bails kept her at his flat where he would often rape her and have his friends also come over to abuse Charity.
She discovered she was pregnant for a second time and began drinking to try and end the pregnancy, fearing Mark would turn violent if he found out.
However she stopped drinking when she felt her baby kick for the first time.
One day Charity managed to escape from Bails and drove to the police station to report the abuse.
The police investigated but nothing stuck and Bails kept his job.
Charity stayed with a friend until she went into early labour.
On New Year’s Eve 1990, Charity gave birth to a son. The baby wasn’t breathing so midwife Irene advised Charity to prepare for the worst.
Charity went to find her son and saw the his heart monitor had flatlined. She couldn’t bear to see her son die and fled.
Irene saw Charity and went after her but couldn’t catch up.
Irene returned to the baby and found he had survived, but as Charity never returned, thinking he had died, Irene went on to adopt him.
She named the baby Ryan and raised him. Ryan has an adoptive brother, Josh.
How did Charity find Ryan?
In 2018, Charity tried to track down Irene to see if she could find her baby’s grave. But Irene lied saying she wasn’t her midwife and must have her confused with someone else.
Charity found out her son survived through the police while looking for evidence to prosecute Bails with.
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Eventually Ryan met up with Charity with Irene’s blessing.
Later a DNA test on Ryan proved Bails was his father.
Ryan was eventually introduced to Charity’s other children and has moved to Emmerdale village.
Mark Bails was sentenced to 30 years in prison for unlawfully imprisoning Charity, living on Charity’s earnings from prostitution and raping her.
Who played Irene Stocks?
Irene was played by Eithne Brown and appeared on and off from May 2018 until January 2019.
Actress Amy Alexander played Irene in the flashbacks which saw Charity give birth to Ryan.
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Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
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