Emmerdale: Charity confronts cheating Mack after months of secrecy

It’s been a long time coming, but Emmerdale viewers finally got the showdown they had been waiting for tonight, when Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) confronted cheating husband Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb).

The scales fell from Charity’s eyes when she saw Mack visiting his newborn son Reuben in hospital as the little boy battled meningitis.

The realisation that Mack had slept with Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland) and fathered her child mere weeks after they lost a baby of their own left Charity broken, but she found her strength in a powerful instalment of the ITV soap.

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Robb gave a strong performance; and Atkins shone through every scene. Charity is no angel, but she is very much the wronged party here and even found herself betrayed by other loved ones.

From granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), who orchestrated an exit for Chloe when she learned the truth, to son Ryan Stocks (James Moore) who knew at least half the story, Charity found that the lies ran much deeper than she could have imagined. That pained cry as she sent Sarah away before screaming questions at Mack was heartbreaking, yet she composed herself when it came to speaking to Chloe at Reuben’s hospital bedside.

As if things weren’t bad enough, Charity felt humiliated that she had welcomed a homeless Chloe into her home with open arms while she was secretly pregnant with Mack’s baby. It was all a horrible, insensitive, devastating mess for Charity, but Chloe simply wasn’t remorseful enough in the face of Charity's calm but icy fury. Meanwhile, at home, Mack just didn’t seem to grasp quite how problematic his behaviour has been.

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Mack had already weakly allowed his every attempt to confess to be thwarted, chickening out more than once and manipulating Ryan into keeping quiet. The only person Charity may be able to trust in her immediate circle right now is her other son, Noah Dingle (Jack Downham), who was filled with anger and disgust at the news.

Charity made it crystal clear that she wouldn’t forgive Mack, and he had no one to blame but himself. Left alone, poor Charity looked shattered. But it was great to see this beloved character back in the spotlight where she belongs, after being lied to for the best part of a year.

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There will be viewers hoping to see Charity reunited with ex-fiancée Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) when the latter returns to Emmerdale. Theirs was certainly a strong relationship that ended far too abruptly, and a brief revisiting of their history last year granted little closure other than the pair drawing an amicable line under the situation.

But for now, Charity needs to be on her own as she heals from her current heartache. After being attached to a storyline as long and predictable as this one, it would be refreshing for Charity’s romantic side to take a backseat.

Whatever happens next, let’s just hope that Emmerdale doesn’t bring her and Mack back together.

Watch the latest Emmerdale spoilers as the aftermath of Charity's discovery continues