Emmerdale SPOILER: Paddy Kirk Considers Taking His Life After Suffering From Depression

Paddy Kirk of Emmerdale will consider taking his own life after suffering from depression since the breakup of his marriage to Chas.

The soap opera character, played by Dominic Brunt, has been lonely and visibly struggling to find his place in people’s lives.

He will begin to have suicidal thoughts as he struggles with the accumulation of isolation, pain and confusion, and the audience will see the true extent of his deep depression.

This beloved character has really been struggling since the breakup of his marriage when he found out that his wife Chas had been cheating on him with Al Chapman.

With Paddy and Chas trying to raise their young daughter Eve, Paddy has been unhappily cohabiting with Chas above the busy Woolpack pub.

However, with the constant reminders of his infidelity, their shared grief over the loss of their daughter Grace, and the daily bickering between this irreconcilable couple, it has all taken a toll on Paddy’s mental health.

In addition to his troubles at home, his job as a veterinarian has taken a hit, and he’s made some unusually careless mistakes.

Feeling isolated and alone, Paddy has found himself unable to seek support from anyone, despite a close network of friends that includes his longtime best friends Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry).

Consequently, during the episode which airs on ITV1 on Thursday 9 February, viewers will see Paddy suddenly leave the village without telling his friends or family.

Although Paddy will soon be found staying locally at a guest house, it will be clear that he is struggling with his mental health and doesn’t plan on reconnecting with loved ones for some time.

In March Paddy will return to his town, when, unknown to his relatives, he will say a veiled goodbye before leaving again with the aim of ending his own life.

Paddy recently confronted his cheating wife Chas after he exposed her affair with Al Chapman (Michael Wildman), the fiancé of Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton).

After the secret was exposed, Paddy continued to lash out at his wife, furious in an episode last week: “You can’t just go in and expect things to be the way they were.”

The pair paddled into Paddy’s workplace and was told by her colleague Rhona Goskirk (Zoey Henry) to spend some time home and away from the veterinary practice after she nearly gave a dog a fatal dose of a sedative.

This week, Chas flirtatiously joked around with Kev the carter, and Paddy is deeply hurt.

Having had enough of his treatment of her, Chas puts Paddy in his place over his controlling behavior and reminds him that it is his choice to continue living with her.

His ex, Mandy Dingle, is concerned that the exchange leaves Paddy heartbroken, and the next day, Paddy tries to hide from his ex, but has no luck.

As Paddy admits he’s lost, Mandy wordlessly reaches out to hug her broken ex, admitting that she knows it can be hard to move on when you still love someone.

Paddy is quietly impressed by Mandy’s remark and feels that perhaps she knows how he is feeling right now.

In bringing this story to the screen, the Emmerdale show’s researchers and writers have taken advice and have worked closely with Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club to tell Paddy’s story as authentically as possible.

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

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

“Even though he is popular and has many friends and family around him, Paddy begins to feel more and more alone, isolated and overwhelmed by his feelings and this leads him to have very dark thoughts.

“We have worked very closely with Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club every step of the way throughout this story and their incredible support and knowledge has helped us make Paddy’s journey a true reflection of what thousands of men sadly go through. every year”.

Lorna Fraser, Executive Director of Samaritans Media Advisory Service, commented: “Paddy’s story creates an opportunity to show others, particularly middle-aged men, as difficult as times can be, they always it’s possible to get help and get ahead, and eventually recover.”

“Depression and suicide are extremely serious subjects, so we are pleased to have seen the producers work so hard to make sure this story is told well.

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

Actor Dominic Brunt, 52, has appeared as Paddy the vet on the long-running ITV show since 1997.

He said of the story: “It is a great honor and a great responsibility to represent this story.

‘It’s an inherent problem in today’s society that most men don’t talk enough about their problems. We suppress them, we don’t want to upset anyone, we are ashamed, we feel that we must be strong and not show weakness.

‘If this story can shed light on the subject or make even a small change in someone’s perspective or point of view, then it will have been worth it.

“It’s also a privilege to work alongside The Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club to highlight this issue.”

Neil Waine of Andy’s Man Club commented: “ANDYSMANCLUB is a men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free peer support groups in over 100 UK locations and online.”

‘We want to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and help men through the power of conversation and we are absolutely delighted that ITV and Emmerdale are tackling this vitally important issue and helping to raise awareness that # ITSOKAYTOTALK.

You can call The Samaritans free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org