Emmerdale’s extra Sunday episode delivered one of the soap’s most harrowing moments in recent memory as Charity Dingle was sexually assaulted by Dr Caitlyn Todd.
The disturbing scenes marked a devastating turning point in the storyline and left viewers deeply divided, with some praising the soap for tackling a rarely discussed issue and others questioning whether the scenes went too far.
Charity assaulted by Dr Todd in devastating Emmerdale scenes
After failing to find the money needed to pay off Dr Todd and protect her secret, Charity reached breaking point in Sunday’s episode.
Fuelled by alcohol and convinced she had nowhere left to turn, Charity confronted her blackmailer and told her to stop playing games and expose the truth.
In an unexpected twist, Todd appeared to back down. She admitted she couldn’t bring herself to destroy Sarah’s life and confessed she found the chaos surrounding Charity thrilling.
For a brief moment, it looked as though the pair had reached an uneasy truce.
But the situation soon took a sinister turn.
Todd attempted to kiss Charity, only to be rejected. Charity then mocked her, leaving Todd furious.
Later, as Charity drifted in and out of consciousness on the sofa, Todd initially appeared ready to leave. Instead, she locked the door and lay down beside her.
The scenes strongly implied Todd sexually assaulted Charity while she was unable to consent. Charity then woke and told her to stop before Todd quietly left.
Viewers praise performances after difficult scenes
The episode prompted a huge reaction from fans, many of whom praised both the performances and the way the storyline was handled.
“Bravo Emmerdale for daring to show what does happen in real life,” wrote one viewer. “To the complainers, nothing was shown, your imagination did the rest.”
Another said: “The final scene of Emmerdale is a hard watch… kudos to Caroline [Harker], not an easy thing to act… and kudos to Emma [Atkins], who broke my heart with a facial expression alone… whilst I hate that they’ve put Charity through this again, there’s no-one more talented than EA to portray it.”
A third viewer commented: “Omg that was horrific to watch. I didn’t think it would be so graphic but it is such an important topic to cover. You very rarely see female-on-female SA covered on tv. Emma and Caroline are doing an amazing job even though it’s horrific to watch!”
Another praised the production team behind the episode, writing: “Tonight’s Emmerdale is an extremely difficult watch but it was handled absolutely perfectly. Amazing performances from Emma Atkins and Caroline Harker and the directing of the end scene by Yvonne Wells and Haley Muraleedharan was outstanding. Please take care when watching.”
Some fans say the storyline went too far
Not everyone watching was convinced the scenes were the right move for the soap.
While many accepted the importance of the subject matter, others felt the episode crossed a line for early evening television.
“We didn’t need to see a [sexual assault] in prime time,” one viewer commented.
Another wrote: “Ok Emmerdale has gone too far.”
A third reacted angrily to the episode, saying: “GET THAT SICK WITCH OUT OF Emmerdale OMG! In what universe is it okay to SHOW something like that???”
The storyline is set to continue in the coming weeks as Charity struggles to come to terms with what happened and faces the difficult aftermath of the attack.
Read more: Emmerdale cast shake-up 2026 as exits confirmed and big returns teased – so who’s leaving?
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 8pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
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