Emmerdale has been praised by dementia charities for its portrayal of the illness in a special episode.
Tuesday night's groundbreaking special was told solely through Ashley Thomas's eyes, and saw the characters of Doug, Aaron, Chas and Laurel briefly recast to show how disorienting dementia can be.
Ashley (John Middleton) has been living with dementia for the past year, but this week we've seen his condition get even worse as he no longer recognises Laurel or his family.
Viewers heaped praise onto John for his portrayal of Ashley's storyline, which has been devised with the help of the Alzheimer's Society and MHA care homes.
Organisational Development Manager at the Alzheimer's Society Cathy Baldwin said: "I have no doubt it'll change people's perspective of dementia.
"When we were working on the story, the producers were very keen it was as true to life as it could be, which is quite difficult for a programme which is essentially a drama.
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"Emmerdale had been keen to make sure that it reached people and let people affected by dementia know that they weren't alone.
"I understand there has to be a certain element of dramatic licence, but Emmerdale have been so flexible about getting things like the language right, and last night I think they smashed it."
Cathy also said she hoped that the story would bring better understanding for the people who care for loved ones living with the same condition.
She said: "The key thing for me was when people were going on Facebook last night and saying, 'I cared for my mum or my gran or my partner, who had dementia, but for the first time now I understand what it might have been like for them'."
Emmerdale airs more heartbreaking scenes in Ashley's ongoing storyline tonight (December 21) at 7pm on ITV.
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