Dominic Brunt has announced Paddy Kirk will be brutally attacked by a dog in a jaw-dropping Emmerdale storyline. But the aftermath is set to flip his life upside down.
He’s been playing vet Paddy Kirk for the past 28 years – so it’s no surprise Dominic Brunt knows the Emmerdale rollercoaster better than most.
But in upcoming scenes due on ITV, the village favourite’s world is shaken after he’s attacked by an aggressive dog. “He’s already scared of horses,” Dominic says, “Now he’s got something else to be scared of.”
Everything kicks off when Paddy spots a sheep tangled in a fence. He steps in to help – but a protective dog lunges at him, leaving him badly injured. Paddy is saved from the worst by his father Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) and rushed to hospital.
The intense scenes were carefully choreographed with a highly-trained Alsatian and off-camera, Dominic had nothing but praise for the canine.
“That dog could do anything, he was amazing,” he remembers, “He’s an evil-looking thing. He’d growl and slabber everywhere but you felt really safe because as soon as someone pulled out his favourite food, he’d start wagging his tail. It was a big game to the dog but it was really impressive.”
The attack triggers a huge shift in Paddy. Known for his dislike of hoses, it sends his confidence plummeting even further. “He worries about the fact that he won’t be able to do his job anymore,” Dominic says. “He has no other skills and he’s goning to have to work it out what he’s going to do in the future.”
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And it’s not just Paddy struggling. He’s been increasingly worried about his father Bear, whose mental health has been deteriorating. “Paddy’s kicking himself that he hasn’t noticed,” Dominic says, “But the attack makes him see eye to eye with his dad.”
Unfortunately, just as the two start to connect, Bear flees.“Bear leaves the village for a good, long while,” Dominic teases, “But he has a big story coming up. We’ll explain where he’s been.”
Amid the fallout of Paddy’s attack, Emmerdale welcomes a new face: Jaye Griffiths joins the cast as Celia, a no-nonsense farmer who ruffles feathers and tries to strike a deal with Moira Dingle.
Dominic was thrilled to work with her. “She’s just unbelievable,” he says, “I was aware of her from various long-standing shows she’s been in. I did her screen test.
They auditioned lots of people and it was down to the last eight. All the actresses were brilliant but she did something else. It’s one of those scenes where you think, ‘This is something special.’ I can’t wait for people to meet her.”
With almost three decades of soap under his belt, Dominic has built strong bonds off-screen too. For nine years, he co-hosted a zombie film festival in Leeds with pal Mark Charnock, raising money for the World Animal Protection.
“We don’t do it anymore, I don’t know why,” Dominic says, “There’s only so many zombie films you can show. We have children and we live quite far apart now.”
Distance has never mattered in his friendship with Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy Dingle. “We were still friends when Lisa left. We stayed in contact all the time and met up for lunch,” he says.
“She’s a friend for life. When they brought us back together, it was like slipping on an old pair of shoes. We’re very close, we know each other’s thoughts.”
He’s just as warm about his other on-screen wives. “I worked with Zoe Henry for years and we became really close. Then they put me with Lucy Pargeter and we were best friends for seven, or eight years,” Dominic adds. “I was really pleased that, although I wasn’t with them, I was back to my original best friend.”
Despite saving all sorts of animals as Paddy, Dominic sticks to simpler companions at home: three dogs and a handful of cats. “I’m more of a cat person but in recent years, I’ve swayed towards dogs. They get you out – we live in the middle of nowhere, and I enjoy taking walks,” he says.
Dominic has also been vocal about wanting Emmerdale to show more of Paddy’s ongoing mental health battle. In 2023, the beloved vet was diagnosed with depression after struggling with isolation and grief.
Since then, he has been linked to Andy’s Man Club, a national men’s mental health charity. “I’d like to see more mention of the fact that it still relies on the Samaritans and Andy’s Man club, but they’re going to sprinkle a bit of that,” Dominic says.
“He has to have one eye on the fact that this can come back and a dog attack can spring it back up. This happens to people with depression – they can feel well for years and then they’re back there. Nobody’s ever out of the woods.”
Away from the cameras, Dominic keeps busy. He plays the mandolin and has a fascination for archeology – he’s even studied it. “I get these intense obsessions that last about four to five years, then I’ll get bored very quickly and drop it all, it’s weird,” he says. “I return to them but they become more of a hobby than an obsession.”
Still, it’s Emmerdale that holds his heart. “It’s still an incredible job,” he says, “I’m still nervous when I have masses of lines to do and really well-written scenes.
But it’s one of the best jobs in the world. As long as they keep writing these storylines, I’m sold. I’m very loyal to the show and I still love it to pieces.”
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