05 September 2023 , 18:31
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Emmerdale fans were left heartbroken tonight as Lydia Dingle was raped.
Lydia was surprised to see Craig, someone she had known from her past, back in her life but with their shared baby loss, the pair soon bonded. However, in harrowing scenes tonight, Lydia was raped by Craig, who forced himself on her. Yesterday, fans saw Craig and Lydia nearly share a moment, with her feeling immediate regret over what had happened.
Struggling with their friendship going too far, she decided to resign but found it difficult when Craig told her how much she means to him. In sad scenes tonight, Craig revealed his feelings for Lydia and she was terrified when he started to force himself on her.
Fans rushed to social media to comment on the heartbreaking scenes, with one writing: "This is hard to watch... #Emmerdale." A second added: "That was horrible to watch. They showed him on top of her through the window. Makes me feel sick. #Emmerdale," as a third shared: "If only we could jump into the tele and save Lydia. #Emmerdale."
Craig forced himself on LydiaKaren Blick - who plays Lydia - said that both her and James Hooton, who plays Sam, cried when they were told about the storyline.
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Speaking to The Mirror and other press, she said: "It was quite early on this year. They weren't sure if they were going to run it, and my initial reaction was, please not Lydia, please. I felt very protective of the character and conflicted as an actor because it's an important story I'm telling, but this terrible thing happening to somebody you are so close to, and the repercussions for that character going forward. A few weeks after that, myself and James got an email regarding a story meeting with Jane.
"When Jane said, and then Craig raped Lydia, it kind of hit you. It is a shocking thing to hear. And I saw the look on James' face and he was just shaking his head again and said I didn't expect that. Both of us had tears in our eyes."
*If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999