Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) has made a reckless decision in Emmerdale.
It comes after he discovered the true extent of wife Charity Dingle’s torment, initially believing that she was suffering from postnatal depression. The truth was, of course, that she’d been blackmailed for months by cruel surgeon Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker).
Todd had discovered that, while Charity was trying to act as surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), she’d actually fallen pregnant with Ross Barton’s (Michael Parr) child.
Holding this information against Charity, Todd tried to syphon £100,000 out of her. She couldn’t muster up all of the cash, and hit the bottle to drown her sorrows.
After Charity passed out on the sofa, the doctor sexually assaulted her.
In the aftermath, Charity reported the rape to the police, though DS Reid (Angela Lonsdale) revealed that there was a lack of evidence, and therefore no charge could be made. Todd also insisted that the sex was consensual, and fled the village for a new life in Sheffield.
Charity’s life had been torn apart, and with only cousin Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) knowing about the blackmail, she decided to tell Mackenzie the truth.
It wasn’t an easy decision to make, and Mack was rightfully furious about her deception and cheating. But after hearing the full extent of Todd’s behaviour, urged his wife to speak to the police – hoping that the blackmail allegations would support her previous report of sexual assault.
In today’s episodes, DS Reid arrived at Jacob’s Fold to take a statement. Charity opened up about the manipulation, and how she’d been forced to take desperate measures to try and keep Todd quiet.
Unfortunately, Reid explained that the CPS would have to treat this statement separate from her previous, and that the two cases would be unconnected. Charity instantly regretted telling the truth, and now with a total lack of faith in the justice system, believed that Todd would continue to walk free.
Mack assured Charity that the abuser would get her comeuppance, and urged her not to attend baby Leyla’s christening, believing that the emotions of the day would prove too much to bear.
Charity was insistent that she should be there to support Sarah and husband Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant), though during the service, Mack looked visibly uncomfortable and clearly didn’t want to play any part in the upbringing of Leyla.
His negative display continued at the party in The Woolpack afterwards, where he struggled to crack a smile when Sarah and Jacob raised a glass to Leyla’s godparents, and rushed off to the toilets when Charity questioned whether he was ok.
In the loos, he tried to pick a fight with Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill), who guided him back to Woodbine Cottage and attempted to calm him down. Mack blurted out that Charity had cheated on him, and Kev encouraged him to seek revenge in a “clever way”.
Mack clearly interpreted this as getting revenge on Dr Todd, and he charged over to her office in Sheffield and demanded answers.
He furiously knocked on her door, saying that he had an issue – and it wasn’t going to go away.
What will Mack do to Todd? And will it impact Charity’s report against her?
For information and support, please visit Rape Crisis or The Survivors Trust.
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