Just a few days ago, Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) sat Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) down in Emmerdale and revealed he feared he had prostate cancer.
Having developed a regular urgent need for the toilet, disrupted sleep, and an enlarged prostate, all things pointed to the big C. After cajoling from Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) and Claudette (Flo Wilson), and an unsavoury moment being caught peeing in the surgery sink, Liam eventually sought help.
‘The moment he concedes defeat and admits he’s got a problem, I think he sees it as a mark of weakness, almost’, star Jonny McPherson said.
‘There’s that playing into it, also he has a very busy life and I think he always wants to kick the can down the road – do it tomorrow, do it tomorrow.
‘Without going into sweeping generalisations I think it is a predominantly male tendency, in the same vein as not wanting to show weakness, is not wanting to admit you’ve got a problem and just hope that it all goes away.’
He added: ‘I think it’s one of the main reasons that soap is successful and it’s so particular to the genre of continuing drama that people that watch it get familiar with the characters over many, many years.
‘They watch them go through the everyday diagnoses, difficulties, deaths, marriage – all of these things they can relate to in a way that other genres don’t necessarily afford.
‘If someone’s watching the programme and has similar concerns and thinks, “I really should get that sorted,” then it’s a job well done.’
Fast forward a number of days and Liam has had the test and is petrified waiting for the results. What he needs now is Chas’ unwavering support – much like he gave when she learned she had breast cancer. But she’s become pre-occupied.
What Liam hadn’t banked on was Chas learning that cousin Charity (Emma Atkins) is possibly pregnant with the local scallywag’s kid instead of her granddaughter’s like she should be.
This family-destroying piece of information has Chas’ mind firmly elsewhere as she tries to convince Charity that she needs to tell Sarah and Mack the truth and not have an abortion in a bid to hide from the situation.
Chas is so busy stopping Charity make even bigger mistakes, she doesn’t pick up on Liam’s growing anxiety. The PSA blood test results he’s waiting for will reveal his fate.
It took a lot for him to even get the test done, and what’s worse for him is the role reversal of patient doctor that he’s experiencing.
Will Chas realise what’s going on before anxiety drives Liam to do something stupid?