Phillip Schofield says talking 'saved me' after discussing Emmerdale storyline
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Dominic joined the ITV soap to discuss the ongoing mental health storyline surrounding his soap character Paddy Dingle. The soap has sensitively begun to look at depression within men and how not talking can lead to devastating consequences. Touched by the storyline, Phillop opened up on his mental health experiences and admitted talking about his issues saved his life.
The soap star said he spoke to families whose lives had been affected by suicide as part of his research into the storyline and his performance.
Dominic explained: “They all say, ‘We had no idea, he didn’t say anything, we didn’t know, he hid it so well.’
“We look at people like Robin Williams and people like that and nobody has a clue because we mask all the time.
“I’m as guilty of that. I’m shy, I don’t tell people that I have a problem, how do you start that conversation?
“I would now and also being an actor now, part of the job is getting the lines and finding out what we mean but what we are saying and what we’re not saying.”
Phillip interjected and admitted: “It saved me. Talking. Talking out loud saved me. No question.”
Dominic continued: “I don’t think there is anybody in this room that hasn’t gone through or experienced the black fog at some point.”
Viewers recently saw Paddy return to his family and friends after struggling to cope with his mental health and going missing.
Best friend Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) went to check on Paddy to make sure he was okay and to see if he could get any reason out of him as to why he went missing for so long.
Paddy played off the incident and claimed he was fine, before being reunited with his daughter Eve Dingle (Bella James).
The Emmerdale icon had been surrounded by people all day who were pleased to see him home but also concerned with his wellbeing.
The ITV soap will soon air an all-male episode where no stunts or other storylines will take place to mark the importance of men discussing their mental health.
Producer Laura Shaw opened up about the upcoming scenes and where the storyline will go in the future.
She told Express.co.uk and other press: “There is a whole episode where our men just talk. There are no stunts, there are no affairs.
“There are no big explosive reveals, it’s just men talking about whatever they are feeling or thinking.
“It’s as simple as that,” she added. “But when you watch it, it’s probably one of the most powerful episodes we’ve ever done.
“We know accurate on-screen portrayals help people with their own experiences and help them speak out without fear of judgement.
“If we help just one person who is struggling to reach out and start talking, well, we’ve done our job.”
The episode will show Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw), Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin), Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) and Jimmy King (Nick Miles) open up to one another.
Taking on the heavy story, Dominic recently opened up about what it felt like to portray Paddy in such a way.
He said: “Men suffer in secret it seems to be. I was privileged and honoured to serve that story.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays from 7:30pm on ITV.
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