Emmerdale has revealed that Marlon Dingle will be attacked amid the ongoing search for his daughter April Windsor.

The worried dad is targeted on the streets as he continues his desperate mission to find April.

April ran away from home at Christmas and her family were recently relieved to discover that she’d been spotted alive on the streets of Leeds.

This gave Marlon a focal point for the search for the first time, but he has left his loved ones concerned by devoting every hour he can to the mission.

Next week, Marlon’s new ally Ross Barton is worried to spot that he now has a black eye.

Marlon explains that he was tricked by two scammers on the streets – and one attacked him during the nasty incident.

Ross is left concerned for Marlon’s mental and physical state, seeing that his current approach to the search is doing him no good.

Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon, explained: “It’s awful, really. Marlon has reached a point of such desperation that he’s not thinking straight anymore. His mind’s gone.

“Marlon had thought that they’d find April when they recently saw the CCTV footage of her walking through a precinct, but then they just don’t.

“During his latest search, Marlon sees a woman who looks like she’s in a bad way. She vaguely looks like April, but Marlon knows it isn’t her really. He calls out and says that he can help her.

“There’s this awful moment when a guy steps in – I don’t know if he’s her handler or her co-conspirator, but they’ve played him. This guy says: ‘You’ve got money, give us the money’. Then he calls Marlon all sorts of horrible names and implies that he’s being dodgy in some way.

“It just breaks Marlon and when he’s telling Ross, he just falls apart.”

The scenes reflect a recent change in Marlon and Ross’s relationship. Marlon and Ross were bitterly divided over what was best for April last year, but Marlon has seen Ross in a new light after his help with the search.

Mark added: “Their relationship has changed in a really interesting way. Marlon has felt threatened by Ross for so many years – ever since losing Donna. But now he’s seeing Ross for what he is – someone who cares for April in a really lovely way.

“I really like the dynamic that they’ve given me and Mike [Parr, who plays Ross] to play. They had all this negative history, but now suddenly Ross is looking after him. I think Marlon really appreciates it.”

Emmerdale bosses have confirmed that April will be found next week and her story will be explored in a special flashback episode.