Emmerdale's Charity Dingle was left devastated tonight (December 23) as she learned that her son Noah Dingle's life was hanging in the balance.
Noah is currently embroiled in a drug-related storyline, thanks to the bad influence of newcomer Danny.
During a low moment, Noah ended up swallowing one of the pills he had confiscated from his troubled niece Sarah Sugden, leaving him in a desperate state.
Related: Emmerdale kicks off Noah's drugs storyline as he struggles to protect Sarah
In tonight's scenes, Noah was seen lying unconscious in the woods after suffering a bad reaction to the drug.
Later, after he was found and taken to the hospital, his mum Charity was told that Noah had taken drugs and that he'd also contracted hypothermia after being out in the woods all night, leaving him in a critical condition.
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Faced with the horror of Noah's condition, Sarah then ended up lying to Charity, claiming that Noah had fallen in with the wrong crowd. However, viewers know that Sarah is the one who's mixing with the wrong'uns, and Noah is just trying to protect her.
Tonight's episode ended with Charity being told by a doctor that Noah could have sustained permanent kidney damage – and that his life is still hanging in the balance. Will he survive the next 24 hours?
Emmerdale typically airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays, but is on a special schedule during the holidays.
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