Poignant scenes shown on Emmerdale tonight saw Paddy and Chas fantasise about the life they’ll never get to share with daughter Grace, who died in their arms not long after her birth. In a fantasy flash-forward, Paddy and Chas were seen taking their little girl on days out at various stages of her childhood, only for tragedy to strike when the newborn passed away at the climax to the episode. Here, actor Dominic Brunt talks about Paddy and Chas’s heartache and what the future could hold for the pair:
So, Dominic, what did you make of the experimental ‘fantasy’ scenes?
I thought that they really worked. When I first read it, I thought that this isn’t really Emmerdale and there’s always a danger with that. But it’s absolutely presented as an episode of Emmerdale within itself – it’s a normal day out with a child who gets older. They didn’t step outside of the rules and framework of Emmerdale too much.
Do you like it when the pace of the show slows down and you get these tender moments between Paddy and Chas?
Absolutely. I prefer two people speaking in a room over anything. I like the explosions and some of the exits have been great, but I’m always more interested in how it affects everyone else afterwards. Any scene with two actors is the best, as you’re in touch with each other’s rhythm, pauses and thoughts – it always gets a bit more muddled when there’s more than that.
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Are you looking forward to filming the aftermath?
Yeah – I’m a massive fan of the show anyway, so I love reading the scripts to see what’s coming up every two weeks. I don’t actually don’t know what happens with Paddy and Chas long term. I just know that they are set to struggle in their own ways for a while – but whether or not it’s a happy ending for them both, I have no idea.
Would you like Paddy and Chas to stay together?
I would, but I really like the drama as well, so I wouldn’t want them to just live happily ever after. The differences in them both are always interesting to explore – she’s bolshy, opinionated and strong, whereas he’s a bit wet, so the differences between them are enough to cause drama. I don’t think you can let anyone be too happy, but I hope for some happiness between them after this, yeah.
Was it important to keep some lighter moments through this story?
Yes and they’ve done that throughout. Even some of the flash-forwards were really funny and full of hope. They’re full of love for the child, so rather than it being an episode about a child dying for half an hour, which would be unwatchable, it was actually full of hope little character moments. It showed their hopes and dreams for the future, which meant the rug being pulled out from underneath everybody at the end was even more heartbreaking. But it didn’t wallow at all. I thought that was brilliantly done.
Have you thought about the possibility of the storyline winning at next year’s British Soap Awards?
No, I’ve never won an award in the 21 years I’ve been here. I wear that as a safety belt. I never think of them. It’s stood me in good stead – I’m obviously not getting employed because of awards, so I don’t want to jinx it by winning one! It seems preposterous to me – giving out awards for two hours to four different programmes. Why are we separate from every other programme anyway?
It’s not that I’m not a fan of them – I never go to the awards, but I always watch them at home and cheer on my mates. And I watch the Oscars – I love that kind of stuff, but from the comfort of my own home. You want everyone to do well and for the show to do well. I’m just not sure how important it is for someone like me or a character like Paddy to win one.
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