Yahoo Finance Emmerdale star Mark Charnock on April's online bullying storyline
Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale's Marlon Dingle faces an upsetting situation next week as he discovers that his daughter April is being trolled online.
April (Amelia Flanagan) is being targeted over her late mother Donna, after recently opening up about her experiences of grief.
When Marlon finds out what's going on, he tries to take matters into his own hands – but it may not be a problem that he can fix quickly.
Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon, recently caught up with Digital Spy and other media to discuss what's in store.
What can you tell us about the trolling that April is experiencing?
"It starts a long time before Marlon finds out about it, which I think is quite common. After Leanna's death, April sets up an online grief account for people to discuss things they have been through.
"It's a beautiful intention that backfires quite terribly. People just jump on it and give her loads of abuse. It's pretty hideous."
How does Marlon find out?
"There's a long build-up. Marlon sees changes in April's behaviour. He sees her more downcast and more reluctant to go to school, which I think are all classic traits of this. He can't put his finger on it, so he and Rhona make mistakes about why it might be happening.
"April tells cover stories for it as well. Then at some point or other, Marlon and Rhona overhear Heath and Cathy talking about it in the pub. He confronts them, and that's when to his abject horror, he finds out what has been going on."
Marlon has been distracted by financial worries, hasn't he?
"Yes, he's under intense and increasing financial problems after buying into The Woolpack and so he is distracted. Despite noticing all these changes in April, he is so concerned about keeping their heads above water.
"Even though it's there in his mind, he's got other worries too, so yes he's distracted. He doesn't perhaps take it on as soon as he should."
What does April tell Marlon when he asks her about the trolling?
"He tries to be as gentle as he can be. He can't believe the abuse April has been getting is about Donna – the worst of it is all related to her dead mother.
"Marlon finds April by Donna's graveside and it's a beautifully written scene, where he tries to express to her how proud he is of her and how he can't believe that he has missed the signs.
"Marlon feels guilt-ridden because he promised April's mum that he would protect her. He feels like he has let her down, that he has failed in some way."
What happens next?
"They talk about it and then Marlon suggests to April, in as careful way as he can, that they simply take the phone away. It's borne out of panic, really. Parents panic.
"Marlon says that if he deletes all of April's social media apps, she doesn't have to read this stuff any more. She doesn't have to see it, she can just get on with her summer and being the person she is.
"Marlon thinks that dealing with it in that slightly dramatic way will just put a full stop to it, but of course it's probably not the correct course of action.
"Having read all the research that Emmerdale have sent me from groups that deal with this kind of thing, the way to deal with it is to talk and talk, including talking with the school. It's all about communication."
Will this be a long-running storyline?
"Yes, it is going to run and run because these things don't go away overnight. They are insidious and poisonous – and the psychological after-effects can be dreadful for kids and for parents too.
"The stuff we've had so far has been really beautifully weighted. Emmerdale has been really careful with it. Obviously you have to be cautious with this kind of story and do it right and tell its truth. So it does run and run.
"I think it's very truthful. It's obviously very sad and I think it's hopefully going to tell a lot of people's stories. As we all know, it's extraordinarily common – too common. We all talk about it on social media but on it continues, on it goes, and people continue to bully.
"So the only way forward is for us to keep talking about it. That's why it's important shows like Emmerdale do these stories, to keep flagging it up because we talk a good game as a society about how this is awful and we've got to stop it, but it doesn't stop. I think it's an important story."
Do you think it could prove educational for some parents out there?
"There's so many avenues for kids to be bullied. My generation is like: 'Oh, Twitter, it's a terrible place'. But there are so many more now, so many more avenues for this stuff to leak into young people's lives. If you've not got 27,000 social media apps on your phone, there's no way you can plug all the gaps as much as you'd like to.
"For my generation, although we think we're well informed in terms of modern media and stuff like that, kids are so far ahead of us with online usage so we're just a bit sightless about it. Unless you go on a course to find out what all these apps are that we've never heard of!
"I think the only way forward for any of these awful situations is communication. Keep talking to the kids and keep making sure that the most important avenue open to them is you.
"There are loads of outlets out there – workshops, counsellors. All of that sort of stuff is available."
How will Marlon deal with this?
"He needs to share this. Obviously he's got Rhona. Rhona is a great parent and she loves April and so they are in it together. That takes all sorts of different forms going forward. It takes a really quite surprising turn, the Rhona aspect of the story.
"But it's the community around Marlon too. From all the testimonies I've read, reaching out for professional people who are skilled and trained in this seems just as important as being available as a parent.
"Marlon is ill-equipped to cope and I think most parents probably are, because it's almost like a guessing game, really. The important thing is to give the kids a safe space where they feel they can express themselves to you.
"In April's case, there's a lot of scenes where she says 'please don't tell school' and all that sort of stuff. It's really difficult for parents, as awful as it is for the kids, it's a really tricky tightrope to walk."
How will Marlon feel if he finds out who the perpetrator is?
"Well he's quite an emotional person so I don't think he'll respond well. It won't be measured!"
Does Marlon decide to tell the school?
"At the point I'm at in the scripts, he hasn't spoken to school. He's promised April he won't at that point, so not yet, no."
Are you pleased that Emmerdale is exploring the story?
"Yes, very pleased. I think Emmerdale does this kind of story extremely well, with all of the research. They take a real social responsibility about these things.
"None of this stuff that they write is ever just thrown into the mix and they hope for the best. They want to get it right. With stories like this, you want people to feel something, you want to inform as well and let people know they're not on their own.
"I think Emmerdale bothers itself about that. It really bothers itself into getting it right and sculpting it in such a way that people can relate to it, but also there's information out there that can help people."
You must be proud of Amelia's performances...
"I've run out of superlatives! We did a scene by Donna's grave a few weeks ago. That is the scene where Marlon has just found out, and she made me cry in the scene. At the end of it, I just looked at her and said: 'You made me cry. If you're this good now, how good are you going to be when you're 20?'
"She's so modest. Her parents have done a great job, she's so down to earth and normal. She's just a very talented young actress, she's great to work with and such a professional. I'm very lucky to be able to work with her."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Want up-to-the-minute soaps news, spoilers and gossip on your social feeds? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Soaps Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @soapscoop Twitter account.
You Might Also Like
