Emmerdale's Mark Charnock is one of the longest-running actors in the village, having played the part of Marlon Dingle since 1996.
Appearing on ITV's This Morning today (March 21) he described his 'harrowing' storyline and shared how he had prepared for the role. Stating how he's 'by no means a method actor', he shared that he was guided scene by scene by stroke survivors and Stroke Association.
He told ITV hosts Phillip Schofield and Josie Gibson, who is standing for Holly Willoughby who currently has Covid: "Tonight’s episode Marlon is set to get engaged and is on top of the world. Something overwhelms him and he has a stroke which takes over his whole life.
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"April finds him which is harrowing. It’s just happened, there's no build up and it's a hideous event. Marlon can’t express himself, can’t move, he had to realise what it’s like."
But he went on to discuss how he was helped in the plot, working closely with Stroke Association and two stroke survivors: "Stroke Association have been amazing. I've been speaking with two stroke survivors.
"If you have to see it, it’s distressing viewing and upsetting so I’ve been guided through it scene by scene. It’s the people around them that overnight become carers, their roles change dramatically. It’s a communal response and in Marlon's storyline there is a lot of love and light in it."
Mark also made sure to reveal the knowledge he's learnt in how to act when someone does have a stroke.
He shared Stroke Association's message of FAST, which details what to check for.
- F - facial weaknes
- A- arm weakness
- S - speech problems
- T - time to call 999
According to the Stroke Association, stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK.
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