Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) has been visibly struggling with his mental health in Emmerdale over the past few months, and things are set to get even worse as he considers taking his own life in an emotionally hard-hitting new story.

Tonight (February 9), Paddy will suddenly leave the village without telling his friends or family. Although Paddy will soon be found staying locally in a guest house, it will be clear he is struggling with his mental health and not planning on reconnecting with his loved ones for some time.

In scenes set to air next month, Paddy will begin to say veiled goodbyes to family and friends, before leaving the village with the aim of ending his life.

This comes after months of feeling isolated, following wife Chas’ (Lucy Pargeter) affair with Al Chapman.

Living alongside her while trying to co-parent daughter Eve has proven challenging, with the pair bickering non-stop. Constant reminders of his wife’s infidelity and their shared grief over the loss of daughter Grace weigh heavily on Paddy, contributing to his declining mental health.

With Chas gradually being welcomed back into the Dingle fold, Paddy feels even more pushed aside, even feeling unable to confide in best friend Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock)

Things at work haven’t been going much better, with the vet making uncharacteristically careless mistakes, like giving Chip too high a dose of anesthetic.

All of these things, among others, are factors that have contributed to Paddy’s mental health decline, and lead him to considering suicide.

‘It is a huge honour and a great responsibility to be portraying this storyline,’ actor Dominic Brunt said. ‘It’s an inherent problem in today’s society that most men don’t talk enough about their problems.

‘We bottle them up, we don’t want to bother anyone, we become embarrassed, we feel we should be strong and not show weakness.

‘If this story can shine a light on the issue or make even a small change to someone’s outlook or viewpoint, then it will have been worth it.

‘It’s also a privilege to be working alongside The Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club in highlighting this issue.’

Emmerdale programme researchers and writers have taken advice and worked closely with both Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club in order to tell Paddy’s story as authentically as possible.

‘As soon as we started discussing this story we knew that it was vital for us to get it right and that we needed to open up the conversation about male depression and suicide,’ producer Laura Shaw explained.

‘Paddy is usually very happy-go-lucky in life, always joking and having a laugh, but what we see is that recent events have really taken their toll.

‘Despite him being popular and having lots of friends and family around him, Paddy starts to feel increasingly lonely, isolated and overwhelmed by his feelings and this leads to him having some very dark thoughts.

‘We’ve worked really closely with Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club every step of the way through this story and their incredible support and insight has helped us to shape Paddy’s journey into a true reflection of what thousands of men sadly go through every year.’

The Samaritans are a charity that support people who are struggling to cope. They respond to a call for help on their free to call phone line every ten seconds.

Lorna Fraser, the Executive Lead for Samaritans’ Media Advisory Service commented: ‘Paddy’s story creates an opportunity to show others, particularly middle-aged men, however difficult times can become, it’s always possible to get help and get through, and ultimately recover.

‘Depression and suicide are extremely serious topics, so we’re pleased to have seen the producers work so hard to ensure they got this story right in its telling.

‘We encourage anyone touched by this story to reach out to Samaritans, our amazing volunteers are always here to listen, day and night.’

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