Emmerdale spoiler: Chas Dingle and Paddy Kirk devastated as baby Grace dies in their arms
THERE is heartbreak in store for Chas Dingle and Paddy Kirk in Emmerdale next week as Chas finally gives birth to their baby daughter, Grace.
But the new parents’ joy is cruelly short lived as they realise that now she’s arrived, the countdown to her death has begun.
The couple share a tender moment with their newborn as they talk about all the things Grace will miss out on in her life.
As they talk, Paddy begins to imagine a trip away with their daughter, but he’s left utterly broken when, back on the hospital ward, baby Grace passes away in her mum’s arms.
Chas and Paddy are left grief stricken knowing their lives will never be the same again.
Chas was told the devastating news that her unborn baby was suffering from a condition called bilateral renal agenesis - which meant her kidneys weren’t developing properly – at her 20 week scan.
Due to a mix-up with the dates Paddy, played by Dominic Brunt in the ITV soap, wasn’t with Chas and she kept the news to herself for weeks.
When she eventually broke down and told Paddy the sad news, they decided not to terminate the pregnancy and to keep their daughter alive for as long as possible.
Chas actress Lucy Pargeter recently spoke out about Grace’s birth and said viewers will be smiling through their tears.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun Online she said that she hopes it will give people hope, adding: “I hope so, I really really hope so and we've said it's not your typical episode.
"I was pleased to see it because I didn't want to do as much harrowing birth [acting] and everything.
"Hopefully it will have people smiling through their tears as well as being deeply upset by it - I hope."
The actress, who has received huge acclaim for how she has portrayed Chas' journey through the entire of the storyline, admitted it was the hardest one she had ever taken on.
She said: "It's been extremely difficult. I've had emotional stuff to do and if the emotions don't come naturally then we normally use a little trigger stick in your eye, jab that in and it makes them water and then you can act the rest, but in this storyline I haven't had to do any of the false things.
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"The emotions have been there. Both me and Dom [who plays Paddy] have had to go to some pretty dark places.
"It's been difficult but the writing has been so beautiful and the topic is so emotive anyway that it's been ridiculously harrowing and really hard but, as I say, we're not going through it.
"At the end of the day we're getting to go home to our beautiful kids and we've been lucky to have healthy kids.”
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