By Elizabeth Cotton
Copyright manchestereveningnews
Emmerdale star Jonny McPherson admitted his character Liam Cavanagh will fear “ghosts of the past” as he shares potentially devastating news with Chas Dingle. Jonny McPherson joined the Dales in 2014 to take on the role of Dr Liam Cavanagh. He played a recurring role up until 2018 when he became a full-time cast member and has recently reignited his relationship with Chas Dingle after separating from Ella Forster. In recent episodes, Chas and Liam had a surprise engagement party and while things started off well, they soon turned sour. In upcoming episodes, Chas will turn to point the finger at Ella, accusing her of drugging her. This added to the pair’s rocky history, with Ella having previously dated Liam before he decided to leave her for Chas. Ella accidentally bumped into her at Chas’ engagement party, and after accusing Ella of purposefully hurting her, the two women had a public showdown as Ella became determined to prove her innocence. Of course, viewers will know that John Sugden was the one who drugged Chas, but both her and Liam still blame Ella to this day. In upcoming episodes, Liam is embarrassed when Claudette finds him urinating at the allotment. Calling Claudette to the Woolpack Backroom, Liam explains that he’s been having issues holding in wees. On hearing this, Claudette is adamant he’s got a problem. As Liam tries to shrug off his issues, Claudette forcibly encourages him to book an appointment to get checked. At the surgery, Claudette urges Liam to put off things in order to attend the appointment for his prostate but Liam instead gets her to cancel his appointment. And despite her urgent pleas over the next few days fails to rebook it and prioritise himself Liam ignores things. But soon the matter reaches a head when Manpreet witnesses a desperate Dr Liam relieving himself in his own consulting room hand basin and realises something is seriously wrong. With her interference Liam faces the truth and knowing he can’t hide from his fears or what his symptoms may indicate he finally comes clean to Chas, who is devastated to hear he fears a prostate cancer diagnosis. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News and other press as to why Liam may want to avoid an appointment, Jonny shared: “I think he feels very much that as a doctor, he’s in a position of, medical authority and needs to be seen as being on top of things, both in terms of the surgery and also himself. “So I think at the moment he kind of admits he’s got a problem, then it’s I think he sees it as a sort of mark of weakness almost.” When asked about Liam telling Chas is worries, Jonny admitted: “I mean, Chas’ diagnosis, breast cancer was obviously relatively recent. “Cancer is is very prevalent within the Dingle family, and it’s something that he knows is very sensitive as an issue. So I think he’s reluctant to want to summon all the ghosts of the past in mentioning what he thinks. “You know, he learned that it could be cancerous. It could just be something else. So he doesn’t want to unnecessarily alarm and, exhume all these emotions. “But, Chas is extraordinarily kind and patient and supportive, which is testament to the strength of their their relationship.” Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
