There is a harrowing new storyline heading to the Dales as Emmerdale’s Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) and Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) hear the worst thing a parent can hear – their child is deathly sick.
Dawn and Billy are facing this distressing situation after finding a simple bruise on Evan’s leg.
Dawn has a hunch something isn’t right so takes him off to see Liam, and she’s floored when Liam immediately sends her to A&E.
It’s a whirlwind as the baby is examined and the paediatrician orders blood tests. With such a nasty bruise, Dawn and Billy worry that they’ll be accused of hurting him.
But the doctor returns with far worse news.
Evan is more poorly than anyone thought, and they need to take an urgent bone marrow biopsy.
Dawn and Billy are left blindsided by this news but there’s even worse to come – as Dawn struggles to settle her son due to him being nil by mouth ready for his op, Billy returns to tell her that he’s been given an idea of what’s wrong – it could be an infection, it could be an autoimmune disease, or it could be Leukaemia.
Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) and Kim Tate (Claire King) arrive at the hospital to support Dawn as Evan is taken down for his biopsy.
The next day, Dawn receives the news she fears and crumbles to the floor as Will and Kim look on helplessly – the diagnosis is leukaemia.
As little Evan’s future looks uncertain, what’s his prognosis?
Discussing this new storyline, actor Jay Kontzle said: ‘I thought it was dead difficult when I got this story because I’d literally just had another baby in real life, and I was like “Now I’m worried about my own child, watching him grow, I don’t want something like this happening.”‘
‘I think it happens with everyone, especially as a parent, you then become a lot more concerned, and that’s why these stories are really pivotal to happen in shows because it makes you think about it a little bit more and it makes you a bit more aware and obviously that’s the whole purpose of it being there but in times it does really grate on you because you are really stressed about your own kids and making sure you spend enough time with them because obviously nothing’s certain, you don’t know what’s around the corner.’
