Emmerdale star Dominic Brunt has been forced to call in sick to the ITV soap for the first time in 25 years.
The Paddy Dingle actor has been part of the show for a quarter of a century and has never called in sick to work. But that changed this week when he got covid, meaning he wasn't able to go on set.
Naturally frustrated at never missing a day of work in his Emmerdale career, he shared his annoyance to Twitter. Assuring fans he was being careful, he mentioned the positive test result has left him feeling less than amused.
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He said: "After 25 years at @emmerdale without a single day off, I have succumbed to the dreaded ‘rona. I have been ridiculously careful but tomorrow will be be the first time in a quarter of a century. Now THAT p***** me off. Fortunate to have good health though and thankful. Love to all."
Despite being one of the show's longest-running characters, in 2020 he shared concerns he might still be axed. He said: "Every Christmas when the contract is up, I still think that’s probably it.
"I think that keeps me going, the thought that at any point you could be out. You can’t just wing it, turn up with no ideas. So I try hard - but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have a job this good for so long. I’m a really big fan of the show and I’m very lucky. I’ve probably dodged a couple of bullets and I never ever take it for granted."
Mentioning that he deals with imposter syndrome, the 51-year-old said: "When difficulties emerge on set I still get nervous. It’s a challenge. I don’t want to look like an idiot in front of six million people watching but I’m literally shaking and feeling a bit sick. I still have that imposter syndrome, fearing I’ll get that tap on the shoulder and be told, ‘Dominic, we’ve found out you’re a welder – what are you doing here?’ I still feel like that."
