Emmerdale star Mark Charnock has said the soap worked with some “amazing people”, including stroke survivors, in the build-up to his character’s storyline.
Charnock, who has played chef Marlon Dingle on the soap for 25 years, collapsed and was rushed to hospital in the ITV soap opera.
In the episode on Monday evening, following the joy of his joint proposal with girlfriend Rhona, Dingle rushes to find the engagement ring when his vision becomes impaired.
Catching a sight of himself in the mirror, the character discovers his face has dropped on one side before collapsing on the floor.
Charnock, 53, said: “Emmerdale has worked with some amazing people on this storyline, including the Stroke Association, clinicians and survivors, people who have actually been through it.”
The episode marked a long-running story which will explore the journey of the family after a life-changing stroke.
In a video to help identify the symptoms of a stroke, actor Charnock said: “In tonight’s episode we saw Marlon have a stroke.
“Now strokes can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time and they happen every five minutes in the UK.
“50% of survivors are dependant on others for their every day needs and sadly one in seven strokes are fatal.
“Hopefully there is some really helpful information we can take from Marlon’s story, the most important is the acronym F.A.S.T, we can use this to identify symptoms of a stroke in you or someone else.”
F.A.S.T – F is for Facial Weakness, A is for Arm Weakness, S is for Speech Problems and T is for Time To Call 999.