It’s safe to say Carly Hope hasn’t been herself since arriving back in the Dales, and she’s set to open up to Marlon Dingle about the reason behind her behaviour.
During the heartbreaking scenes, Carly [Gemma Atkinson] explains why she reacted so badly when Kirin Kotecha struggled to cope with baby Johnny.
Marlon [Mark Charnock] is stunned to learn Carly had a baby boy, Billy, who died of sudden unexplained infant death syndrome, and that she hasn’t told anybody – not even her parents.
The confession comes after childminder Carly accidentally allows Marlon’s daughter April Windsor to wander off, and he lashes out.
Speaking to Radio Times, Gemma, 31, said: “Marlon accuses Carly of not being able to relate to a child going missing. He says it’s only something a parent can relate to. And she screams out that she has been a parent.
“She blurts it out, so she then has to explain everything that’s happened to her. It’s the first time she’s spoken of it in four years. Not even Bob or her mum knows.”
Tragically Carly went through the whole thing on her own, from discovering her lifeless baby, to making funeral arrangements.
Gemma continued: “He was a baby boy called Billy and he died of sudden infant unexplained cot death. At the time, she was a single mum, so she found him and was with him in the ambulance. She went through it all on her own. She had to bury him and get the death certificate.”
She added: “What Carly has been through is really tragic and she’s carried this guilt and hurt with her all this time.”
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm, with another episode at 8pm every Thursday, on ITV.