In upcoming scenes in Emmerdale, Chas Dingle (played by Lucy Pargeter) and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) will face a parent’s worst nightmare when their daughter dies just hours after birth.
Baby Margarita is due this autumn, but the child’s parents are overcome with sadness as they know their little girl cannot live outside of the womb.
Chas was told at her 20 week scan that the tot was suffering from a condition called Bilateral Renal Agenesis, where a newborn is missing one or both kidneys.
This painfully meant Margarita was unlikely to survive birth, a scenario both Chas and Paddy found difficult to comprehend.
The harrowing storyline has greatly impacted Lucy, who plays the devastated mum-to-be, as she admitted the scenes would be “hard” to shoot.
“It is going to be harrowing and hard,” she told TV Times. “I’ve sat through the read-throughs sobbing.”
She continued: “Paddy and Chas have both agreed to donate Margarita’s organs when she dies.
“Chas has had many moments of denial throughout this pregnancy, but the reality will hit her when the baby is born.”
Prior to the birth Chas and Paddy will agree to meet with a woman named Joanne (Emily Spowage), who has been through a similar pregnancy to theirs.
Will the meeting help Chas and Paddy finally come to terms with their reality? Or could it add salt to the wound?
Dominic, who portrays the heartbroken father-to-be, previously said he was delighted to be covering such an important story.
“I’m over the moon that we’re telling the story. Thank God I’m not going through it in real life, but it’s utterly fascinating and I hope we can do it justice,” he told Digital Spy.
“It’s a really quite unique and harrowing situation to be in.”
Speaking about the plot, he continued: “Some couples do decide to take the pregnancy to term in order to give the child that time.
“Even if it’s just an hour, an afternoon or a day, that is that child’s life and it deserves that small life.
He went on to add: “There will be difficulties and heartbreaking periods, but they decide this is what they’re going to do.
“They’re going to approach it in a positive way.”
Pub landlady Chas and partner Paddy have tried to stay strong and pretend everything is fine, despite their torture.
But with the birth looming, can they hold it together or will they crumble at the very end?
Emmerdale continues tonight on ITV at 7pm.
