Dominic Brunt plays fan favourite Paddy Kirk, the Emmerdale vet with a heart of gold who has been in the village ever since his arrival in 1997.
Currently, Paddy’s got a lot on his plate as he deals with the aftermath of finding out that his wife Chas was having an affair with Al Chapman.
Dominic Brunt isn’t only known for his role in Emmerdale though.
Who is Dominic Brunt? Which Emmerdale co-star is he married to?
Who does Dominic Brunt play in Emmerdale?
Dominic Brunt plays the role of Emmerdale vet, Paddy Kirk.
Paddy is the son of Bear Wolf and Barbara Kirk, arriving in the Dales in 1997.
During his time in the soap, Paddy’s had quite the love life.
He’s wedded Mandy Dingle, Emily Dingle, Rhona Goskirk and Chas Dingle.
However, unfortunately for Paddy, none of these marriages provided him with his happy ever after.
With the tragic death of their daughter, Grace, and Chas’ mum, Faith’s, cancer journey, Paddy and Chas felt a big strain on their relationship.
Chas ended up having an affair with Al, with Paddy losing everything once the truth came out.
Are Mandy and Paddy dating again?
Mandy was Paddy’s first wife, however the couple divorced after Mandy cheated on Paddy with her dad’s carer, Neil.
However, it was always obvious to fans that Mandy was the true love of Paddy’s life.
After Chas and Paddy’s break up, Mandy started to worry that Paddy wasn’t coping.
As she supported Paddy, the pair ended up sleeping together.
Lisa Riley spoke out on Lorraine about where she sees this bond between Mandy and Paddy going, revealing:
“We are tackling depression to the fullest form… [Paddy] is going to attempt suicide.
“With Mandy and Paddy she can be there for him through thick and thin all the time and never judge him.
“Me and Dom [Brunt] love working together and you can tell that cameraderie on screen. The writers then see that and they write more of it, but who knows.”
Paddy’s mental health struggle
Currently, Paddy’s struggling with depression.
After finding out about Chas’ affair, Paddy has felt more and more isolated.
This pain added to that he was already experiencing since the loss of Grace.
In most recent scenes, Paddy leaves the village without telling any of his loved ones where he is going.
Eventually, Emmerdale bosses revealed that Paddy will be found at a local guest house.
However, he’ll return a month later to say some veiled goodbyes before leaving once more, with the plan to take his own life.
Emmerdale boss, Laura Shaw, revealed: “As soon as we started discussing this story we knew that it was vital for us to get it right and that we needed to open up the conversation about male depression and suicide.
“Paddy is usually very happy-go-lucky in life, always joking and having a laugh, but what we see is that recent events have really taken their toll. Despite him being popular and having lots of friends and family around him, Paddy starts to feel increasingly lonely, isolated and overwhelmed by his feelings and this leads to him having some very dark thoughts.
“We’ve worked really closely with Samaritans and Andy’s Man Club every step of the way through this story and their incredible support and insight has helped us to shape Paddy’s journey into a true reflection of what thousands of men sadly go through every year.”
How old is Dominic Brunt?
Dominic Brunt is 52 years old, with his birthday being April 15, 1970.
He will be 53 in April this year.
His character Paddy was born in July, 1969 which makes him just a few months older than the actor.
Which co-star is Dominic Brunt married to?
Dominic Brunt is married to Emmerdale co-star, Joanne Mitchell.
The couple married in 2003, having met at theatre school together.
Dominic and Joanne have two children together – Mickey-Joe and Danny-Lee.
Joanne played Liv Flaherty’s mum, Sandra Flaherty.
The character made a comeback to the soap last year (2022) which saw her try to con Liv out of her money.
Fortunately, Sandra’s schemes were exposed and she was arrested.
Sadly, Liv died in a storm not longer after.
Dominic Brunt’s movies
As well as starring in Emmerdale, Dominic also produces and directs movies.
Dominic especially loves horror movies.
He has previously directed films such as Wolf Manor, Attack of the Adult Babies and Bait.
He’s also produced films including The Outing and Magpie.
Read more: Complete Emmerdale cast list 2023 – meet them all here!
Emmerdale usually airs on weekdays at 7.30pm, with an hour long episode on Thursdays.
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