EMMERDALE’S Billy Fletcher hits the bottle after letting cancer-stricken baby Evan get ill.
Billy and his wife Dawn were left devastated earlier this year when they were told their baby son has leukaemia.
The couple struggled to process the news and juggle protecting Evan from outside illness while in hospital and being there for their other two children, Lucas and Clemmie.
Recently, Evan was allowed to return home, but that has caused further stress for the family, and in upcoming Emmerdale episodes, Billy cracks.
The scenes see Evan spit up his medication under Billy’s care, resulting in Dawn losing trust in him.
Nate invites Billy for beers, and soon drunk Billy returns home, aided by Nate.
Kim covers for Billy’s absence but Dawn is worried about Evan’s cough and he is rushed to hospital.
Billy feels guilty about his lack of social distancing with Nate, but Kim takes the blame.
Before long Rose saves the day when Dawn forgets Clemmie’s birthday, successfully pulling off a spontaneous birthday party, leaving Dawn and Will grateful but Kim excluded and uninvited.
Will the truth come out?
Speaking at an Emmerdale press day, show producer Laura Shaw said: “ALL is one of the most common childhood leukaemias.
“I think there’s 650 children and young adults diagnosed with that every year in the UK.”
She continued: “What we really wanted to show with this story is what a stress and strain a long-term illness like this can put on a family.
“What we’ll see is how the roles of Dawn and Billy are changed almost overnight and out of nowhere.
“We’ll see how Lucas and Clemmie are affected and the stress that it puts on those sibling dynamics.”
Everything you need to know about Emmerdale
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
