Emmerdale: Dominic Brunt ‘shakes off’ Paddy Dingle’s depression as ITV character plans to take his own life

Dominic Brunt has revealed that he had to “shake off” Paddy’s depression after each day of filming, ahead of a huge storyline on Emmerdale.

ITV viewers will watch his character, Paddy Dingle, attempt to commit suicide in Thursday night’s episode after a long battle with depression.

Paddy’s mental health deteriorated after he split from his cheating wife Chas, and in Tuesday night’s episode, Paddy returned to the village after several weeks away.

However, this week, he will vanish from Emmerdale once again, and it’s a race against time to find him after his father Bear discovers a handwritten suicide note.

Speaking to MailOnline, Dominic, 52, explained that this was far from a normal Emmerdale storyline but that he wanted people to “normalise talking”.

He said: “The mechanics of how it was going to work and who was being involved and the scale of it, and it kind of transcends the normal storylines that were normally given.

“I think the only time I’ve had something like this before was when Aaron came out, and it mattered to people.

“I remember an uncle that was kind of that you know that generational kind of bigotry that’s there and he watched it and went yeah, I understand that.

“I was hoping that this story might do that, it might actually make a difference and normalise talking.”

The soap actor has worked with producers and mental health charities The Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club to portray the storyline sensitively.

Dominic admitted that Paddy’s dark storyline and talking to people who’ve been through similar situations has made him “appreciate” what he has.

He explained that he had to work hard to protect his own mental wellbeing throughout production. The actor received good support and prioritised getting enough sleep after his hour’s drive home to ensure Paddy’s depression was “shaken off almost immediately.”

Dominic added: “I couldn’t let myself even open a little door to the Black dogs that these people experience.”