It was revealed yesterday that the ITV soap will cover the couple’s heartbreak after their baby boy Evan is diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. 

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It’s every parent’s worst nightmare and will throw the happy couple and their whole family unit into utter turmoil.

The episodes have been produced with the support of the charity Leukaemia Care, who are working closely with the Emmerdale production team on the storyline to ensure a realistic and authentic depiction.

Colin Dyer, CEO at Leukaemia Care commented: “Every year 10,000 people are diagnosed with leukaemia in the UK.

“A leukaemia diagnosis can affect not just the patient, but also their loved ones such as friends and family.

“The Baby Evan storyline being featured on Emmerdale, is helping to deliver a very important message not just about the awareness of the symptoms and the condition, but about how it affects the family and those around them.”

Actress Olivia Bromley, who plays Dawn, said: “This is an incredibly challenging and heartbreaking story, but such an important story for Emmerdale to tell.

“I’ve learnt so much since working with Leukaemia Care and speaking to parents whose children have been diagnosed, and we want to not only raise awareness but to do justice to the experience of families who are blindsided by a diagnosis like this.”

She continued: “For Dawn and Billy, like many parents, Evan’s diagnosis turns their world upside down so unexpectedly.

“It’s been inspiring to hear the stories of strength, resilience and also to hear of the incredible NHS staff who do such invaluable work when parents’ are at their lowest, so I hope we can also reflect this as we approach this storyline.”

Emmerdale Producer, Laura Shaw, added: “Evan’s leukaemia diagnosis will come abruptly and without warning for Dawn and Billy, like it does for many parents who find themselves facing this devastating situation.

“Working closely with Leukaemia Care, it’s vital to us that we portray this story as accurately and sensitively as possible and do justice to those faced with a diagnosis like this and highlight the severe impact a long term illness like this can have on families lives.”

During an Emmerdale press day, Laura said of the storyline: “We’ve seen these two go through a whole heap of challenges in their relationship.

“They’ve finally got married, they survived Meena, Dawn got pregnant, they had baby Evan and it’s been fairly rosy for these two over the past few months.

“We’re going to see their world totally rocked when, almost out of nowhere, Evan is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

“ALL is one of the most common childhood leukaemias. I think there’s 650 children and young adults diagnosed with that every year in the UK.”

She continued: “What we really wanted to show with this story is what a stress and strain a long-term illness like this can put on a family.

“What we’ll see is how the roles of Dawn and Billy are changed almost overnight and out of nowhere. We’ll see how Lucas and Clemmie are affected and the stress that it puts on those sibling dynamics.

“We’ll see how this affects Billy and Dawn’s relationship, the wider family in Kim and Will, and all of their friends.

“There’s also the financial pressure that looking after a child long-term like that can put on a whole family. That’s going to be a big story for us going forward.”

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Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.