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Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) is struggling in upcoming Emmerdale episodes as she resolves to keep her rape ordeal a secret.<\/p>\n
She was attacked by her former friend and employer Craig Reed (Ben Addis) when she went to hand in her resignation. Lydia had become uneasy after she and Craig shared a moment of closeness in the car after visiting the last resting place of their son, Toby.<\/p>\n
Uncomfortable about continuing to work alongside Craig she decided that the best thing to do was to leave her job and avoid him. But when she told him of her decision he was heartbroken and told her that he thought fate \u2013 or Toby \u2013 had brought them back together deliberately.<\/p>\n
While Lydia tried to decide how best to deal with the situation as it quickly became clear that Craig had feelings for her that went far beyond anything she was comfortable with, Craig forced himself on her.<\/p>\n
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After raping her he seemed oblivious to her shock and distress, even insisting on driving her home after the ordeal as if it was quite a normal thing to do.<\/p>\n
As Lydia arrived home to Wishing Well, she\u2019d already decided that she had to protect Sam (James Hooton) and the rest of the family by keeping the ordeal secret.<\/p>\n
\u2018She feels guilty, she feels ashamed, she feels that it\u2019s somehow her fault, she has put herself in that situation \u2013 which is completely incorrect,\u2019 Karen Blick told us. \u2018She\u2019s fearful about being believed and she does not want to upset her family. That\u2019s a big thing.<\/p>\n
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\u2018We see Lydia in the aftermath when she goes back to the Dingles\u2019 and Sam and Mandy (Lisa Riley) are there. She\u2019s thinking about others: \u201cWhat will this do to Sam?\u201d She just wants it to go away. \u201cI\u2019ll get on with this, I\u2019m going to pretend this has not happened and get on with my life.\u201d I can completely understand why she takes that decision.\u2019<\/p>\n
As a result, Lydia continues to struggle as the days go on and she tries desperately to carry on with her day to day life and not reveal that this traumatic, life-shattering thing has happened to her.<\/p>\n
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Karen Blick also told us that the shock is compounded by having to continue working for Craig, because she wants to keep helping Amelia (Daisy Cambell) and Esther financially.<\/p>\n
\u2018She\u2019s retraumatised when she sees him,\u2019 Karen said. \u2018She has a physical response, kind of post traumatic stress as a result of what she\u2019s been through. Seeing him again brings up the images of what happened, the thoughts, the feelings regarding that. So she\u2019s trying to process that. She\u2019s having to go back to work pretty much every day. That\u2019s the place where it happened, seeing the perpetrator who\u2019s denying it even happened and her version of events.\u2019<\/p>\n
As time goes on there will be some light at the end of the tunnel for Lydia as she\u2019s eventually able to get some support.<\/p>\n
\u2018Emmerdale are taking their time with this and it\u2019s not something that will just go away for Lydia,\u2019 Karen explained.<\/p>\n
\u2018There are lasting repercussions, but also looking at the healing process for Lydia. She is a strong woman who\u2019s been through an awful lot in her life, as many women have. How she gathers herself together after this with the help and support of whatever route that she takes.\u2019<\/p>\n