Charity Dingle Tate Sharma (Emma Atkins)

[lizann]

on twitter there is pictures of charity in a wedding dress, is she and declan getting hitched?

[Perdita]

on twitter there is pictures of charity in a wedding dress, is she and declan getting hitched?

She can't possibly be divorced already, surely?

[Perdita]

on twitter there is pictures of charity in a wedding dress, is she and declan getting hitched?

She can't possibly be divorced already, surely?

[sarah c]

She can't possibly be divorced already, surely?

The Decree Nisi came through this week?

[Perdita]

The Decree Nisi came through this week?

Missed some episodes this week, so maybe ... still a very quick divorce

[Perdita]

The Decree Nisi came through this week?

Missed some episodes this week, so maybe ... still a very quick divorce

[tammyy2j]

Charity Sharma has some huge life decisions to make next week after she discovers that she is pregnant.

Charity initially tries to keep the news a secret, but when her partner Declan Macey (Jason Merrells) finds out, he is delighted and is desperate for her to keep the baby.

Here, Emma Atkins - who plays Charity - explains how her manipulative character feels about the prospect of being a mum again.

How does Charity feel about Declan? Do they have a relationship of convenience, or are there real feelings between them?
"I'd say it's a mixture of both, actually. I don't think they'd still be together now if there wasn't something going on beyond just that financial benefit for Charity. I think they're really attracted to each other. They make each other laugh, and they're both very sharp-witted, bright people who like each other's company. Then there are also the other fabulous trappings: he's got money, he's got the Home Farm estate, he's offering her a bright future. There's both in there, there's a mixture of it all and it makes it interesting.

"If Charity was just out for her money, then I think the audience would just get bored, because it's like, 'There she goes again' with someone who just happens to be rich. There are always characteristics in her partners that Charity falls for, and with Declan I think it's that he's shrewd, but also he's very loving and funny. He's a complex character like her."

Is Charity over Jai?
"She's bitter because of what happened, but it's more like pride with Charity. I think she's beyond the idea of loving him now, so I don't think she still loves him. I think she's just very wound up about what happened with the baby, so she holds a grudge still, which is burning away there. There's always a grudge in Emmerdale, isn't there?"

How does Charity feel about being pregnant?
"Charity is utterly horrified. She didn't ever mean to get pregnant. She takes the pill religiously in order to stop that from happening, and she almost doesn't know how it's happened. She's just assuming that maybe she forgot to take it on a morning when she was maybe hungover. She'd had a skinful the night before and overlooked it, and so it's a huge error. She's just absolutely gobsmacked.

"All this time she's vowed never to have another child. She's in this predicament - she's feeling vulnerable and sickened that she's got herself in this situation."

What does Charity decide to do?
"At first she keeps it from Declan, since she doesn't want anybody to know. Instead she confides in Debbie, who is appalled because her mum often makes unwise choices and makes a mess of her life. Debbie ends up reverting to being the mum and saying, 'Mum, what are you going to do? You can't have this child'.

"At first, Charity decides she wants an abortion, and again runs to Debbie for help and says, 'Please will you come with me?' She admits that Declan doesn't know, and Debbie's furious that she's not even willing to share it with someone who she supposedly loves."

How does Declan find out the truth?
"Debbie agrees to go with Charity to get the abortion, and then Declan stops her in the street. He sees that she's been throwing up for a few days now and he works it out, because she's suddenly avoiding him and surreptitiously going around. Declan just clocks her strange behaviour and he says 'Oh my god, you're pregnant, aren't you?'

"Then that causes another hellish situation, because now somebody else knows and it's her partner, and he's just said that he loves her. He's dropped the 'L-word' in, so it's all getting more complicated than Charity ever imagined it would be with Declan.
The pregnancy has begun this whole tangled web of deceit, because Declan is really desperate for a child because he lost his own daughter.

"The fact that Charity is pregnant is almost like a flicker of hope for Declan that he can be the father that he always wanted to be."

How does Charity feel about that?
"Charity's like, 'Are you joking? I can't even look after myself, I'm so selfish, I'm so absorbed in my own world. I can't have a child'. That's the beauty of Declan and Charity, though - Charity can literally stand there and go, 'I want an abortion, because I can't look after this child because I'm too selfish'. She can actually stand there and say that to her boyfriend. It's brilliant that they have that brutal honesty, despite the subject matter being quite controversial."

Then Declan proposes to Charity…
"Yes, Charity says to him that actions speak louder than words, and he says, 'Alright then, what do you want to do? Put it on a card?' She goes, 'Yes, let's write down 'Charity's pregnant' and send it around the village'. He says, 'Why don't we write down 'Everyone, come to our wedding''. Charity stops dead, and she realises that's more like a proposal."

Is Charity suspicious of Declan's motives?
"Yes, she's already had a really interesting conversation with Debbie where she's said, 'I want to test Declan, I want to see how far he's willing to go for me'. There are advantages to being pregnant, so Charity is being quite devious. She's more or less saying, 'Is it the fact that I've got a seed inside me, that you want me to be yours? Or do you want me as well as this baby?'

"Of course Declan really is interested in having this baby, because she's pregnant, so why wouldn't he be? Naturally he's going to want the baby, but I think suddenly Charity starts feeling a bit jealous and that it's more about the baby than it is her. She thinks this is one whole mess of an idea, so no, it ain't going to happen. So she chucks him out.

"Again, Charity is very thoughtful about it after he's gone. I don't know if it's part of her gameplan, because she's just seeing whether he's going to come back for more. She puts people to the test, maybe because she feels she was so unloved as a child."

Could Charity be a better mum this time around?
"Well, she talks herself into having the baby because she thinks, 'You know what, Declan has said we will get a nanny. So you will have the responsibility of that child split between you, me, and a nanny'. She starts to think this could work and things start to look more appealing.

"Debbie at this point still thinks that Charity is going to a put a stop to the pregnancy, but after Declan's proposal, she decides to keep the baby. So Debbie's like, 'Why are you doing this? Two minutes ago you were going to go for a termination, and now suddenly you want this baby.' She's a mixed-up person."

After they announce their engagement, Debbie actually goes to warn Declan that Charity could have ulterior motives. What do you make of that?
"It's fabulous, and such a bold move for Debbie to interfere in her mother's goings-on. When Charity finds this out, there's a great scene in the Woolpack toilets where Charity just tells her, 'How dare you, what are you playing at? You're interfering in my life'. Debbie says, 'I wish I could believe that you really want this child, but I can't help thinking it's just because you'll get the big house and you'll get a nanny, and is it all for the right reasons?'

"Charity knows that she's inherently quite a selfish character, but she vows that she's changed and that she's going to be a decent mum. And she almost believes it, she thinks she's going to be fine this time."

Does Charity get cold feet afterwards?
"Reality dawns on her the more it's going down the line, and Declan is buying Moses baskets for the baby. It freaks her out. She's just not that sort of person to sit and go, 'Wow, that's a gorgeous Moses basket'. It's just more symbolic gestures that it is really coming true. Charity is faced with it more and more.

"Also, Jai walks in and sees the Moses basket. They went through a whole year where Jai really wanted a baby, and Charity vowed 'Never, ever, ever.' Again Charity realises what a hypocrite she's being. Obviously I know she got caught out and she didn't mean to get pregnant, but it's so complicated and she realises it can't go ahead. So she does privately, and without anyone's knowledge, go and see a consultant - except Chas knows."

Charity does have a little heart-to-heart with her little boy Noah. Could he change things for her?
"Charity is just thinking, 'I've screwed up Debbie's life, I've screwed up Noah's life. At least I can try and make Noah's life better by loving him more'. She's passed Noah from pillar to post, she still does. There's episodes where the audience come up to me and go, 'Where's Noah?' I say, 'I'm so sorry, I don't write the scripts'. Noah disappears for episodes on end.

"Charity does have this habit of saying, 'Lisa can you look after Noah?' and then goes out for meals with Declan or whatever. It's no life for a child.

"In this case, they have a little heart-to-heart where she says, 'I love you, and as long as you know that' and all that kind of thing. Young kids are so resilient in a way, but you never forget, do you?"

[TaintedLove]

Maybe Declan is a jaffa, and the baby is the result from a one night stand she had with Ross Barton a few months ago. It was to make Jai jealous as I recall

[lizann]

better twist if the kid was cain's

[Perdita]

Emmerdale schemer Charity Macey looks set to be at the centre of the soap's biggest storyline this autumn.

Speaking at an Emmerdale press event today (August 11), series producer Kate Oates confirmed that she has big plans for the ruthless character.

Autumn is expected to be another dramatic time for the village, following in the tradition of Carl King's murder in October 2012 and the Woolpack siege and flood in October 2013.

Hinting at what's in store this year, Oates explained: "It is definitely going to be a big autumn. Obviously we've got a short tradition now of trying to go really, really big in the autumn.

"I've said before and I stand by it, that I don't necessarily want to get us into a place where we're tying ourselves in knots trying to do a stunt every October, because then it stops becoming about story and starts becoming about being in competition with yourself.

"But we have got a massive storyline coming up in the autumn, and it may be Charity in the firing line this time! You'll just have to see what happens there."

Fans have been waiting for a comeuppance for Charity ever since she started the year by teaming up with Declan to frame Rachel Breckle for the Christmas fire at Home Farm.

She also recently shocked fans by faking a miscarriage to fool Declan after she had secretly terminated her pregnancy.