Emmerdale reveals special hour-long episode for Jacob Gallagher set entirely in hospital as lives hanging in the balance
EMMERDALE has revealed a special hour-long episode for Jacob Gallagher set entirely in hospital - as lives hanging in the balance.
The character - played by Joe Warren Plant - has been training to become a doctor in recent months.
In January, Jacob will begin his job placement at a busy A&E department.
Emmerdale is dedicating an hour-long special episode to Jacob's first day, as it will highlight the stresses of working with cases of serious injury and life-threatening emergencies.
But will it prove too much for the young medical student?
Speaking about the episode, Emmerdale producer Sophie Roper said: "When Jacob first embarked on his aspirations of having a medical degree we knew at some point we wanted to show a day in his life.
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"In this episode we step away from our usual environs of the village and head to the hospital.
"This episode takes place entirely on our purpose built hospital set."
She continued: "Accident and Emergency is a place many of our characters end up in, but seldom by choice.
"As the episode unfolds, Jacob will encounter some challenging situations that also affect some of our Emmerdale villagers, pushing Jacob to his limits both professionally and personally.”
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Meanwhile Joe added: "When I met with our producer Sophie, she told me about this hour-long episode dedicated to Jacob’s first day of placement in A&E.
"I was hit with all these emotions. Knowing how many people have this high pressure job for real gave me the pressure to really knuckle down and get it right.
"Tackling this storyline scared me at first, but I feel honoured to know they trusted me enough to tell it. That means such a lot and I feel very honoured.”
Some Emmerdale fans will wonder if what Jacob sees involves his mother, Leyla Harding.
It was revealed in October by The Sun on Sunday that actress Roxy Shahidi would be leaving her role on the ITV soap after 16 years - and that she is being killed off.
A source told us at the time: "She is really excited about her meaty exit storyline, which will see her character Leyla die on screen.
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"She'd rather go out in a blaze of glory and be remembered."
But will Jacob witness that devastating moment first hand?
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.