Is Paddy leaving Emmerdale and does he die?
Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) continues his struggle with his mental health on Emmerdale, and in emotional scenes, considers taking his own life.
The vet recently returned to the village after going off-grid for weeks.
His disappearance followed a night drowning his sorrows with ex-wife Mandy (Lisa Riley) and ending up in bed with her.
Paddy’s friends and family – including ex-wife Chas Dingle – were overjoyed when the missing man suddenly walked in to the Woolpack, but it soon became clear that he was far from well.
Now, as Paddy hits rock-bottom, will he find the strength and support that he needs, or will he leave Emmerdale for good?
Paddy’s life began to fall apart when he discovered his wife Chas (Lucy Pargeter) was having an affair with Al (Michael Wildman).
As his mental health declined, Paddy avoided seeing his daughter, Eve – and as the Dingles welcomed Chas back into the fold after her affair, Paddy felt increasingly pushed out.
The sudden end of his marriage also brought up repressed grief from the loss of baby Grace.
He will be found by Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) a field with a gun in his hand, wanting to end it all.
Luckily, Marlon persuades Paddy to return to the village.
In heartwarming scenes – and in a first for the soap – the men of Emmerdale will come together to discuss their mental health.
Upcoming scenes will see a late-night lock-in at the Woolpack with one aim on the agenda – to get men talking.
Characters featuring in the all-male episode – which will be broadcast on March 10 – include Marlon, Liam (Jonny McPherson), Nate (Jurell Carter), Jimmy (Nick Miles), Bob (Tony Audenshaw), Charles (Kevin Mathurin), Sam (James Hooton) and Cain (Jeff Hordley).
We’ll have to wait and see whether Paddy joins them.
Emmerdale worked closely with the Samaritans and men’s suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club in order to tell this story as authentically as possible.
Does Paddy die?
Thankfully, viewers will see Paddy piecing his life back together with support from family, friends and other groups.
‘Marlon says to Paddy: “Why didn’t you come and talk to me?”‘ says actor Dominic Brunt.
‘Paddy replies: “At the time it wouldn’t have made any difference.”
‘So that’s why you need to seek help – because at the moment of despair I don’t think people think much will help. But there are lots of things that can.’
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Dominic discovered during his research for the storyline that it can be quite difficult for people to talk to loved ones about their struggles.
‘Some people get very very embarrassed in these situations and they don’t want to speak to friends, but they will go and speak to somebody else that they don’t know.’
Dominic added: ‘Paddy’s opened the door to it now – he’s capable of having those thoughts. He’s capable of attempting to take his own life and he’s going to have to watch that now for the rest of his life.
‘But there’s also quite a lot of light – it’s not a misery-fest. It’s not this dark story that’s awful to watch. Even a couple of weeks later, there’s little pinches of light where Paddy has found his humour again, but he has to watch himself.
‘I really hope it shines a light on the subject and makes people aware of what other people are going through.’
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