Emmerdale fans say ‘this feels illegal’ as they discover Charity star’s real accent
Emmerdale fans were shocked to hear Emma Atkins speak in her 'real' accent as she chatted about the soap at the British Soap Awards
Emmerdale viewers were gobsmacked to hear Emma Atkins’ real voice as she dished the goss during an interview at the British Soap Awards.
Stepping into the Dales in 2000, the actress took a brief hiatus from ITV’s Emmerdale in 2004 to chase new roles, before her triumphant return in 2009 as a permanent fixture on the show.
Charity Dingle has had a rollercoaster half-year, landing smack bang in the middle of some hefty plotlines. Fans will no doubt remember that fateful moment Charity was behind the wheel of the limo that plunged into the icy waters, claiming three lives.
The smash-up unfolded after Charity swerved to doge her son Noah, who was caught up in Joe Tate’s twisted game. Joe had spiked him hoping he’d be the golden ticket for a kidney transplant.
Emma Atkins joined Emmerdale as Charity Dingle in 2000(Image: ITV)
Once discovering Noah was no donor match, Joe callously left him for dead on the road. The sinking tragedy sealed the fate of Leyla Harding, Amy Wyatt and Suzy Merton, who all made a heart-wrenching exit from the soap, reports the Manchester Evening News.
And the drama wasn’t over for Charity – soon under suspicion for throwing Joe out of Home Farm’s top window, although it turned out Dawn Fletcher was behind the push in a blind rage.
Chatting to Metro on the sidelines of the British Soap Awards, star Emma Atkins reflected on the calamitous scenes: “I was so proud to be part of it, I read the script and I was like, ‘This is phenomenal.'”
She continued, recounting her experience of the crash episode: “When I watched it play out as well, because I wasn’t in a lot of the scenes, so I was able to be a bystander and an audience member and fully soak it up.
“I was really moved, genuinely moved to tears with a lot of the performances, so I feel really proud to be part of that.”
The star then dropped hints about a “huge” storyline brewing for Charity and Sarah Sugden, gushing: “It’s going to be huge towards the middle and end of the year, with her connections with Sarah [Sugden], basically.
“I think she’s being the maternal figure in her life that she’s lacking at the moment because Debbie’s gone away. She’s playing that motherly role where she’s concerned about Sarah’s health.
“Sarah, at the moment, isn’t letting her in, but there’s that crossroads where she’s like, ‘Do I tell Charity the truth?’ Then we go on a huge journey later on, which I can’t reveal yet.”
Nevertheless, it was during this revealing interview that eagle-eyed fans clocked Emma’s real accent is a far cry from Charity’s Yorkshire drawl. On X (formerly known as Twitter), one person wrote: “I’ve never noticed she fakes her accent for the show,” and added: “Like why is she posh this feels illegal.”
Meanwhile, another was taken aback, tweeting: “I’ve never heard her in an interview!” alongside a shocked emoji, while someone else shared: “I’ve met Mark Charnock and he sounds so different to Marlon.”
