Dr Todd in Emmerdale left Vanessa Woodfield reeling on the ITV soap on Wednesday, ahead of a dark new storyline.
Todd and Vanessa have enjoyed a blossoming romance recently, while fans have questioned whether Todd is using Vanessa to get to Charity Dingle. Todd showed an interest in Vanessa shortly after blackmailing her ex Charity for money, over her baby lie.
With Charity desperately trying to raise the cash, Todd has made a point of seeming cosy with Vanessa in front of Charity. But despite Vanessa thinking love could be on the cards, Todd shut this down on Wednesday in an unexpected twist.
It happened moments after Charity accused Todd of stringing Vanessa along just to get at her. This seemed to be confirmed when Todd cruelly ended things with Vanessa, claiming they were never anything more than “temporary”.
View 3 ImagesDr Todd has been enjoying a romance with Vanessa(Image: ITV)
Vanessa was visibly shocked by the news, as Todd claimed she was leaving the village. She didn’t even spare a thought for Vanessa or their romance when she claimed she had been given a job in Sheffield.
As Vanessa realised it could see them split, she told Todd how she thought they were going to give things a go. An unfazed Todd simply told Vanessa: “And we did, but you never wanted to do long distance so I guess that means we’re just mates again.”
Vanessa was shocked and saddened by the update, and ended up drowning her sorrows in the pub. As Mary Goskirk encouraged her to try a long distance romance, Vanessa claimed Todd wasn’t interested.
So does this prove that Todd was only using her to get at Charity, and now that Charity is close to getting the money, Todd doesn’t want to know? It comes ahead of a sickening twist that sees Todd sexually assault Charity.
View 3 ImagesTodd is blackmailing Charity(Image: ITV)
Just when Charity believes she has stopped Todd and a truce has been formed, she will launch a malicious attack in difficult scenes. The storyline will explore the heartbreaking effects of sexual violence, and female-on-female assault.
Emmerdale is to explore the devastating effects of sexual violence and the complex feelings of isolation survivors can experience, particularly in the context of female-on-female assault. It’s been revealed that in the coming weeks, Charity will struggle to come to terms with the attack.
She will be left having to choose between confiding in her loved ones about the attack, or internalising the trauma she is facing. Scenes will air this Sunday, and Emmerdale producer Sophie Roper has discussed the plot.
“Charity’s storyline will explore the impact of sexual violence, and though this heinous act is fundamentally about power, we’ll explore the complexities of how Charity processes her trauma when the perpetrator is a woman,” she said.
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