16 October 2023 , 17:30
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As one of Emmerdale's most likable and funny characters, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) has had his fair share of soap romances. The chef is currently married to wife number five after dealing with everything from grief to falling for the vicar's wife. Now settled down with Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), the focus in recent years has been on Marlon's health struggles, with the father-of-two having suffered a stroke back in March 2022.
The character has been at the very heart of village life since his arrival in 1996, and, having followed his various trials and tribulations over the years, many viewers almost feel as though they know Marlon. Away from the Dales, however, actor Mark prefers to keep his personal life private, rarely sharing information about his marriage or family life.
(ITV)Rarely-seen wife
As per TV.com, Bolton-born Mark is married to his wife of a number of years, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The couple also allegedly have one son together. Although precious little is known about Mark's family life, he'll often share updates on Instagram about his various behind-the-scenes interests, which appear to include gardening, reading, and animals.
Mark will often receive visits from an adorable Goldern Labrador named Freddie, believed to belong to a family member. The sweet pooch makes frequent Instagram appearances on Mark's Instagram, much to fans' delight. Much like his onscreen counterpart, Mark also appears to have a love of food and cooking, and will often upload pics of his delicious-looking bakes and treats.
Real age
Mark enjoys a full life away from set, but keeps quiet about his family (markcharnock/Instagram)Mark was just 28 years old when he joined the beloved ITV soap, and he's still only 55 - making his recent stroke storyline even more powerful. In an informative video about his character's ordeal, Mark emphasised that strokes can happen to people of "any age", encouraging people to look out for tell-tale symptoms. According to Mark: "Emmerdale has worked with some amazing people on this storyline, including the Stroke Association, clinicians and survivors, people who have actually been through it.
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
"Now strokes can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time and they happen every five minutes in the UK. 50 percent of survivors are dependant on others for their everyday needs and sadly one in seven strokes are fatal. Hopefully there is some really helpful information we can take from Marlon's story, the most important is the acronym F.A.S.T, we can use this to identify symptoms of a stroke in you or someone else." The acronym here stands for: face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, and time to call 999.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.