Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) is struggling in upcoming Emmerdale episodes as she resolves to keep her rape ordeal a secret.

She was attacked by her former friend and employer Craig Reed (Ben Addis) when she went to hand in her resignation. Lydia had become uneasy after she and Craig shared a moment of closeness in the car after visiting the last resting place of their son, Toby.

Uncomfortable about continuing to work alongside Craig she decided that the best thing to do was to leave her job and avoid him. But when she told him of her decision he was heartbroken and told her that he thought fate – or Toby – had brought them back together deliberately.

While Lydia tried to decide how best to deal with the situation as it quickly became clear that Craig had feelings for her that went far beyond anything she was comfortable with, Craig forced himself on her.

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After raping her he seemed oblivious to her shock and distress, even insisting on driving her home after the ordeal as if it was quite a normal thing to do.

As Lydia arrived home to Wishing Well, she’d already decided that she had to protect Sam (James Hooton) and the rest of the family by keeping the ordeal secret.

‘She feels guilty, she feels ashamed, she feels that it’s somehow her fault, she has put herself in that situation – which is completely incorrect,’ Karen Blick told us. ‘She’s fearful about being believed and she does not want to upset her family. That’s a big thing.

‘We see Lydia in the aftermath when she goes back to the Dingles’ and Sam and Mandy (Lisa Riley) are there. She’s thinking about others: “What will this do to Sam?” She just wants it to go away. “I’ll get on with this, I’m going to pretend this has not happened and get on with my life.” I can completely understand why she takes that decision.’

As a result, Lydia continues to struggle as the days go on and she tries desperately to carry on with her day to day life and not reveal that this traumatic, life-shattering thing has happened to her.

Karen Blick also told us that the shock is compounded by having to continue working for Craig, because she wants to keep helping Amelia (Daisy Cambell) and Esther financially.

‘She’s retraumatised when she sees him,’ Karen said. ‘She has a physical response, kind of post traumatic stress as a result of what she’s been through. Seeing him again brings up the images of what happened, the thoughts, the feelings regarding that. So she’s trying to process that. She’s having to go back to work pretty much every day. That’s the place where it happened, seeing the perpetrator who’s denying it even happened and her version of events.’

As time goes on there will be some light at the end of the tunnel for Lydia as she’s eventually able to get some support.

‘Emmerdale are taking their time with this and it’s not something that will just go away for Lydia,’ Karen explained.

‘There are lasting repercussions, but also looking at the healing process for Lydia. She is a strong woman who’s been through an awful lot in her life, as many women have. How she gathers herself together after this with the help and support of whatever route that she takes.’

You can find information and support surrounding sexual violence and abuse here.

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