Emma Atkins has addressed viewers following a distressing sexual assault storyline on Emmerdale that left many fans feeling “sickened” by what they witnessed.
The 51-year-old actress, who has portrayed Charity Dingle on the ITV soap since 2000, appeared in a video on the programme’s official Instagram account shortly after Sunday’s episode concluded.
The episode had been rescheduled from its regular timeslot due to football coverage, with the attack by Dr Caitlin Todd, played by Caroline Harker, occurring in the final moments of the broadcast.
During the harrowing sequence, Dr Todd climbed onto Charity as she lay unconscious on the sofa, with the sound of a trouser zip being undone audible to viewers.
Charity awoke in horror, pleading with her attacker to stop, before the doctor calmly gathered her belongings and departed.
While ITV broadcast a warning before the linear transmission, numerous viewers expressed anger that the YouTube version of the episode contained no such advisory notice.
One viewer wrote on X: “B****y hell #emmerdale maybe you should put a trigger warning on for those who may been affected by this in the past.”
Another echoed this in urging the soap to add a warning to the video description, stating the programme “really should have done more here.”
The assault scene emerged from a complex web of deception that has been unfolding on the soap in recent weeks.
Earlier this year, Charity gave birth to baby Leyla after supposedly acting as a surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and Sarah’s husband Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant).
Emmerdale viewers were left ‘feeling sick’ by Dr Todd’s assault on Charity | ITV
In reality, Charity had become pregnant following an affair with Ross Barton (Michael Parr), a secret that Sarah and Jacob remain unaware of.
Dr Todd discovered this truth and has been using it as leverage against Charity, while simultaneously bullying student nurse Jacob for months.
In the episode leading to the attack, the doctor arrived at Charity’s home to find her intoxicated and vulnerable.
After threatening once more to expose the baby’s true parentage, Dr Todd attempted to kiss Charity, who rejected her advances.
Reaction to the storyline was sharply divided among the soap’s audience. Some viewers threatened to stop watching entirely, with one posting that the episode had “left many women feeling sick and shaken” and calling for the programme to be cancelled.
Another fan described the scene as “grim” and “completely unnecessary,” arguing it was “unworthy of both Emma Atkins and Caroline Harker.”
Critics also questioned whether female-on-female sexual abuse should be used as a backdrop to the baby secret storyline rather than being explored more thoughtfully.
However, supporters defended the decision to tackle such subject matter. One viewer wrote: “This storyline WILL help so many people.
“It doesn’t matter the gender, SA happens. Let’s open that conversation and get victims justice.”