Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale's Rhona Goskirk has reprimanded Paddy Dingle after he admitted that he's struggling to support his friend Marlon after his stroke.
Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) has been recovering in hospital after suffering a stroke last week, leaving his family and friends heartbroken as they come to grips with his condition.
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While Marlon's partner Rhona (Zoe Henry) has been struggling to stay optimistic following Marlon's stroke, it's been clear that his best friend Paddy (Dominic Brunt) isn't coping with Marlon's health emergency at all.
Related: Emmerdale scriptwriter shares long-term future of Marlon's stroke storyline
Following on from Friday's episode, in which Marlon made the decision to ban visitors from his hospital room in heartbreaking scenes, tonight's (March 28) trip to the village saw Paddy continue to put off visiting his friend in the hospital, despite Chas's insistence that he go.
While he did ultimately join Rhona at the hospital, it wasn't long before he made up an excuse to leave again before actually visiting Marlon, telling Rhona that he'd been called to work at the vet and had to leave.
"I've got to go. Work's so busy," he insisted. "We can manage – I've just got to get back."
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Later, Paddy was seen looking uncomfortable as Bear (Joshua Richards) praised Paddy for being such a good friend to Marlon, but he was soon caught out when Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) admitted to Rhona that Paddy hadn't been at work that day and Rhona immediately took Paddy to task over his lies.
"You said you had work, you said you were swamped," Rhona accused him. "Why did you lie?"
"I'm sorry. I can't pretend that I can handle this," Paddy told Rhona. "Every time I go there, every time I see him, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do and I feel like I don't even recognise him.
"I want to help. I want to be better but... I don't know how," he continued.
Angrily, Rhona insisted that Paddy needs to step up and be there for his friend, adding that she finds it difficult too.
"I know this is hard, this is one of the hardest things I've ever done but Marlon doesn't get to have a choice and neither should we," Rhona shot back, before leaving Paddy with one final home truth.
"If this was the other way around, if it was you in that hospital bed, Marlon would never ever leave your side."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV and streams on the ITV Hub.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Stroke Association has further information and support on stroke. You can call their helpline on 0303 3033 100 or visit their website at www.stroke.org.uk. Readers in the US can contact the American Stroke Association.
