Charity Dingle gave birth to a baby boy as a teenager and was convinced he was dead at the time but left the hospital before getting confirmation from the midwife
EMMERDALE fans are convinced Charity Dingle’s baby boy will make a shock appearance in an upcoming episode after it was revealed he's still alive.
The character, played by actress Emma Atkins, gave birth to a son at the age of 14 in 1990, fathered by crooked policeman DI Bails (Rocky Marshall).
As a teenager, Charity was working as a prostitute and was cruelly abused by Bails.
She fell pregnant but drank heavily at the time and went into labour prematurely.
Assuming the baby was dead, she left hospital before finding out for definite what had happened to her son.
In tonight’s episode, viewers saw Charity recall her past in a series of flashbacks as she told Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) what had happened, leaving many of them convinced the now 18-year-old boy was actually still alive.
At the beginning of the episode, priest Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) told Charity she should delve into her difficult past in a bid to see DI Bails sent to prison.
Harriet said: “He’s looking at 15 years at least… That man changed the course of your life. There is something you can do.”
But Charity was insistent she would not drag up harrowing memories again, declaring: “Not like this, that box stays closed.”
She added: “A wild goose chase for my dead little boy will find nothing.”
However, Harriet and Vanessa took it upon themselves to visit the hospital where the midwife that delivered the baby last worked in a bid to uncover information.
An upset Charity discovered what they were up to and was told they planned only to tell her anything they found and not take it any further.
In a bid to comfort Charity, Vanessa talked to her in the hospital’s chapel as she explained her past.
Telling her of the pregnancy and referring to her drinking, Charity said: “I tried to make it go away on my own, it was the only thing I could think of. (Bails) used to keep me drunk a lot in the beginning.”
Vanessa was convinced Charity should hunt further for information on what happened to her son and do a DNA test.
She told Charity that at the age of 14 she was too young to consent to sleeping with the policeman and insisted he and his friends, who also slept with her, were in the wrong.
She said: “Every man who stepped in that flat knew it was wrong. Every single disgusting one of them. They don’t deserve to be out there having a cosy little life like nothing happened.”
In one flashback, a teenage Charity could be seen on the phone in the hospital after going into labour.
She said: “I don’t know how far along I was but I knew it was too soon… I was a beaten, half starved alcoholic.”
She explained that she tried to call her father who was not interested in helping her as he knew she was working as a prostitute.
The midwife suggested there was complications when the baby was born and viewers would be forgiven for thinking the baby had died.
But Charity left the hospital before finding out for sure what had happened and has believed ever since he was dead when he is in fact still alive.
And fans now think he will make a return to Charity’s life, with one person tweeting: “I think Charity saw the wrong baby dying. I think her son is still alive.”
Another viewer wrote: “Really enjoyed the flashback episode. A real insite into why Charity is how she is. I just knew the baby was alive, so many unanswered questions.”
Someone else commented: “Hang on a minute.. So does that mean her baby never died like she though.. INTERESTING.”
And another fan posted: “The baby survived, does the nurse have him? Or does she know who does?”
Viewers heaped praise on actress Emma this evening, with one person writing: “#Emmerdale tonight was WOW! It was just simply outstanding! The script, the editing but most of all #EmmaAtkins was just phenomenal.
“It was beautiful & heartbreaking. Congratulations to everyone who was involved in tonight’s episode.”
Another person wrote: “Emma Atkins to win ‘Best Actress’ on Saturday night at the British Soap Awards. She truly deserves it. She’s incredible.”
Emmerdale continues on ITV1 on Wednesday evening at 7pm.
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