Emmerdale's Mark Charnock on the 'unspeakable horror' of Laurel's alcoholism

The actor plays Laurel’s (Charlotte Bellamy) husband Marlon, who will be forced to face up to the extent of her drinking problem when she passes out and chokes on her own vomit after drinking three bottles of wine while looking after children April and Arthur.

With the youngsters left to raise the alarm, Marlon returns home to the horrifying sight of his wife being treated by paramedics and wearing breathing apparatus.

Mark told the Radio Times: “Laurel’s got breathing apparatus in, she’s on a stretcher and the paramedics are there. It’s actually just unspeakable horror. It’s like a picture has been painted of his worst nightmare and it’s right there in front of him.”

The actor also praised the ITV soap for the creeping way in which Laurel’s drinking problem had been introduced.

He said: “The way Emmerdale has depicted Laurel’s alcoholism has been really subtle and very cleverly structured. For the last few months, they’ve dropped in little moments of Laurel having a glass of wine. They just drip-fed it in. And suddenly you realise what you’ve been watching.”

He said that this would only be the beginning of the couple’s struggles: “It’s an ongoing rollercoaster. And we’re just trying to tell the story correctly and reflect what people go through. We’re all doing our very best for it to be as authentic as possible.

“And what it comes down to is that there’s not really a right way of dealing with the problem. Especially if the person doesn’t go to Alcoholics Anonymous or some sort of detox.

“As an actor, though, it’s these stories that you wait for. It’s brilliant and I can’t tell you how good Charlotte has been. She’s hit the ground running with it and been amazing.”