Emmerdale actor Mark Charnock has opened up about how his character Marlon Dingle feels threatened romantically by Graham Foster, the ex of his other half Rhona Goskirk who recently returned from the not-dead.
The soap has shown that there are unresolved feelings between the former lovers, and Marlon is definitely more than a bit worried.
Charnock stated that Marlon is finding it “incredibly difficult” to deal with Graham’s return, explaining: “It is a threat. Of course it is because they were in love, and he ‘died’, right? And she grieved him, but their relationship didn’t end.
“So she’s still got all this emotional, romantic baggage that is now still there, because it was there before. That didn’t stop. So [it’s] an awful lot for Rhona to deal with. And as a consequence, Marlon recognises that. It is a threat, yeah.”
“For all of Marlon’s softness, he’s still a bloke, and he’s got stupid male pride. So there’s definitely a part of him that makes him feel profoundly insecure,” Charnock added, referring to how Graham is a manly “man of combat” compared to the softer Marlon.
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However, he added that he feels like Marlon’s gentler nature may also be his greatest strength in this love rivalry.
He said: “On the other hand, I feel like what he can offer Rhona that Graham can’t, is the last few years and everything that they’ve been through together. There’s such a strong emotional connection there.
“They have a family and it’s this family unit. So it definitely could go either way. But I think with the emotional side of things, Marlon probably has the upper hand despite the threat that Graham poses.”
He said he’d be “gutted” if the couple broke up, as he loves working with Rhona actor Zoe Henry, but he does note that “anything can happen” in soap land.
Elsewhere in next week’s episode, the show kicks off a new whodunnit as Kim Tate is poisoned at a Dingle truce dinner, but who did it?
