Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale's Paddy Dingle becomes convinced that Bear Wolf has dementia next week, due to his increasingly concerning behaviour.
While recounting his dad's recent erratic outburst to Gabby Thomas, alarm bells start to ring for Paddy – as Gabby advises that he should get Bear to the doctors for a dementia test as soon as possible…
"Having watched her dad Ashley's battle with dementia, Gabby knows the signs better than anyone," points out our Emmerdale insider.
"So Gabby puts Paddy's biggest worry out there. It's a wake-up call that he needs to take action."
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However, when Paddy tries to broach the subject with Bear, his concerns are ignored and the situation blows up in Paddy's face, leaving the vet even more worried than before.
Yet Paddy is given a glimmer of hope when Gabby suggests he could try to conduct an online dementia test on Bear without his knowledge.
"It is quite the unethical plot, but Paddy's a desperate man," our source reveals.
"If his dad won't take help willingly, he sees no other option but to go behind his back for his own good."
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Things run far from smoothly though, and it quickly becomes clear to Paddy and Marlon that getting Bear to unwittingly undergo the test will be more difficult than they ever thought.
Can they get to the bottom of Bear's mysterious struggle, or will they be left with even more questions than before?
Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy Dingle, recently told us exclusively: "A lot's going to be happening with Bear Wolf. We don't know [what's going on with him]. The audience will probably know, but Mandy, Paddy and Vinny don't know at all.
"It's whether Bear's going to be in danger or not. Danger could be on the cards for him. But us as the characters don't know."
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Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
More information about dementia is available via organisations including the NHS and Dementia UK. Resources for readers in the US are available via the National Institutes of Health.
