Dr Caitlin Todd’s (Caroline Harker) reign of terror is finally over in Emmerdale.
As viewers know, the vile surgeon blackmailed Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) for months, demanding a serious amount of money in exchange for her silence over a huge secret.
Todd had discovered that, while Charity was acting as surrogate for granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), she actually fell pregnant with Ross Barton’s (Michael Parr) child instead.
The baby – Leyla – was born, and Sarah is now raising her auntie, under the illusion that she’s her daughter.
Before Todd left the village, she sexually assaulted Charity. Her family believed she was suffering from postnatal depression, but in the aftermath, she’s slowly opened up about the ordeal.
Emma Atkins as Charity Dingle and Caroline Harker as Dr Caitlin Todd in Emmerdale. ITV
Husband Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) was furious with the betrayal, but vowed to get revenge on Todd. He raced over to the hospital in Sheffield that she now worked, and vowed to kill her if she messed with Charity again.
A flash-forward then revealed that the GP would eventually meet a grisly end.
Earlier this week, after dropping drunken friend Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) home, Todd clashed with Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick). Enraged, she then chased over to Jacob’s Fold and awaited Charity’s return.
In today’s episode, Todd said that she was furious to learn that Vanessa had been turned against her, and stole her victim’s phone off the sideboard.
Todd claimed that she was prepared to sue Charity for defamation of character, clearly unwilling to admit to her crimes. She said that she wasn’t prepared to see her reputation ruined, and implied that Charity could be in love with her.
Charity was appalled and asked just one thing of her abuser – an admission of guilty for the sexual assault.
Michelle Hardwick as Vanessa Woodfield. ITV
Todd laughed in her face and tried to suggest that the interaction was consensual. She then said that Charity had regretted what had happened and had then tried to tarnish others’ perception of her.
Suddenly, Charity grabbed Todd by the hair and slammed her down onto the sofa. Todd pleaded with her to stop, and Charity retracted, realising that she they had found themselves in the same place that the attack took place.
Todd sat speechless as she listened to the survivor’s words. Charity wanted to know why she felt the need to abuse her power as a doctor to hurt another woman. Little did they realise, Sarah had walked in and heard the tail-end of her grandmother’s confession.
Katie Hill as Sarah Sugden. ITV
Sarah panicked and was sickened by what she’d learnt. She couldn’t understand how the same woman who could save Charity’s life during childbirth could inflict such cruelty.
Todd laughed. She knew that the perfect opportunity for her to expose the secret had arose, and branded Charity a liar.
Unprepared to listen, Sarah ordered her to leave the house and pushed her into the direction of the door. Todd tripped on the rug and her head smacked off the coffee table, killing her instantly as she dropped to the floor.
What lies ahead for Sarah now she’s a murderer?
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Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.
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