Emmerdale has a new resident villain on the show, in the form of DI Mark Bails (played by Rocky Marshall).
However long time fans of ITV’s soap will know that DI Bails has been around for a while – but when did he first make an appearance?
DI Bails originally appeared in the show as Harriet Finch’s (Katherine Dow Blyton) former boss.
But the first time fans truly met DI Bails was during his stint of arresting fourteen-year-old Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).
At the time Charity was working as a prostitute, and had several run-ins with the inspector.
Charity was usually relieved if the police officer picking her up turned out to be DI Bails, as he usually let her get away with a caution.
But their relationship quickly took a dark turn, as DI Bails bought a flat for the young Charity.
The naive youngster was initially excited at the prospect of DI Bails saving her, but it wasn’t a kind act.
The inspector raped and abused her for months, forcing Charity to run away and report him to the police – causing his wife to leave him.
DI Bails attempted to get some revenge later on, when he attempted to blackmail Pete Barton (Anthony Quinlan).
He pulled some strings to get Pete’s plea postponed, but later informed him that he needed to get Charity to the police station and make a confession for a crime she did not commit.
Although initially reluctant, Peter and Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) decided to attempt to record Charity’s confession without her knowing.
These events later resulted in Charity confessing to her involvement with insurance fraud, much to DI Bails’ delight.
Charity was then sentenced to two years in prison.
Charity recently revealed her harrowing past to Debbie and Pete, just before she confessed to the fraud.
Last night’s episode also hinted that Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) may not be the father of Debbie.
After being groomed and raped by DI Bails, Charity’s abuser may be the father of her child.
Actress Emma recently spoke about the abuse, saying: “I didn’t know the extent of the abuse or how bad it was.”
Emmerdale continues tonight at 7pm on ITV.
