Recently in Emmerdale, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) attempted to get rid of April Windsor’s (Amelia Flanagan) homeless friend Dylan (Fred Kettle) by planting drugs on him.

Marlon’s intention was to force Dylan to leave his home so April could then focus on moving forward in her life and processing the ordeals she went through while on the streets. He thought it would be a simple plan, but he didn’t think about Dylan taking an overdose in the aftermath of the situation.

When Marlon found Dylan in hospital, the two ended up having an honest conversation.

They concluded they had something in common because they both wanted what was best for April. With that, Dylan accepted Marlon’s offer to pay for private rehab and prepared to leave the hospital.

Dylan then requested that he visited April one final time. A paranoid Marlon took him back home, where Dylan told April his plan to go to rehab. He said that Marlon was paying for it, but never told her about him planting the drugs. He also told his friend that they shouldn’t be in contact once he gets there, which broke April’s heart.

Dylan’s decision painted him in a bad light and Marlon in a good one. It was a massive risk but in upcoming episodes, Marlon can’t deal with his guilt and finally tells April about his plan.

Prior to the confession, Marlon once again tries to connect with April, but his efforts aren’t enough. He then tells April the truth about Dylan, and she’s understandably stunned.

‘The decision to tell her comes quite quickly’, star Mark Charnock said.

‘She’s very sad, she’s missing Dylan, Marlon’s hidden a letter that Dylan’s sent because even though he and Dylan have an understanding that Dylan will keep out of the way and that Marlon’s paying for his rehab, they have an understanding that he won’t be in contact – that was Dylan’s idea. And so the minute he sees the letter, the alarm bells start ringing.

‘They’re having a conversation on the bench outside Bob’s cafe and he realises in the middle of the conversation that actually there just comes a point where you just have to tell the truth.

‘I think Marlon thinks “If I just blab this out now, she’ll hear it, she’ll understand it and she’ll see it in his eyes that he’s done it out of love” and that doesn’t happen. So he tells her and it’s pretty disastrous.’

As things develop, April heads to the vets and steals some ketamine. When Marlon gets home, he is shocked to find his daughter unconscious on the floor, with the drugs beside her.

Mark explained what happens next:

‘She fakes an overdose to teach them a lesson, which is so horrifying. Marlon’s been speaking to Rhona in the cafe and he’s going to have it out with her, “Let’s just sort this out, we can do this, you’re my daughter, we can get through anything” and he walks in and on the floor he sees his daughter with what appears to be a used ketamine vial next to her, and the horror is total and instantaneous.

‘After everything they’ve been through – Dylan’s overdose, April’s disappearance – for all the world it looks like she’s dead. He thinks that she’s not quite dead, he’s screaming about getting help and then she sits up and says “That’s what karma feels like”.’

‘It’s awful, it’s a really good piece of drama, it’s an awful thing for a parent to have to go through but I think what they’re doing is they’re showing the extent to which their trust has been broken and it is a real turning point.’