Emmerdale is gearing up to air a high-pressure episode focusing on one character away from the village.
Set to premiere next year, a special episode of the ITV soap will follow Jacob Gallagher as he starts his job placement in a busy hospital A&E department.
In the hour-long special, Jacob will have to face the reality of working in a stressful medical environment that may take a toll on him. Meanwhile, Emmerdale producer Sophie Roper teased that the medical student will cross paths with some of the villagers at the hospital.
“When Jacob first embarked on his aspirations of having a medical degree we knew at some point we wanted to show a day in his life,” Roper said.
“In this episode, we step away from our usual environs of the village and head to the hospital. This episode takes place entirely on our purpose-built hospital set.”
The producer added: “Accident and Emergency is a place many of our characters end up in, but seldom by choice. As the episode unfolds, Jacob will encounter some challenging situations that also affect some of our Emmerdale villagers, pushing Jacob to his limits both professionally and personally.”
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Jacob actor Joe Warren Plant shared that he was a bit hesitant and honoured when he first heard about the storyline and was determined to next year portray it as accurately as he could.
“When I met with our producer Sophie, she told me about this hourlong episode dedicated to Jacob’s first day of placement in A&E. I was hit with all these emotions,” he said.
“Knowing how many people have this high-pressure job for real gave me the pressure to really knuckle down and get it right.
“Tackling this storyline scared me at first, but I feel honoured to know they trusted me enough to tell it. That means such a lot and I feel very honoured.”
