ITV Emmerdale star reacts to baby Evan’s ‘challenging and heartbreaking’ cancer storyline

Emmerdale actress Olivia Bromley has spoken about the devastating scenes ahead on the ITV soap, as baby Evan is diagnosed with a serious illness.

The youngster will be diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in the coming weeks, leaving his parents Dawn Taylor and Billy Fletcher in turmoil. Soap boss Laura Shaw previously revealed the storyline, and how we would see the impact the diagnosis has on the family, and how it will turn their lives upside down.

The ITV soap is working closely with the charity Leukaemia Care on the storyline, to ensure a realistic and authentic depiction. Actress Olivia has revealed “challenging and heartbreaking” scenes are ahead, as Evan’s illness comes to light.

She revealed: “This is an incredibly challenging and heartbreaking story, but such an important story for Emmerdale to tell. I’ve learnt so much since working with Leukaemia Care and speaking to parents whose children have been diagnosed, and we want to not only raise awareness but to do justice to the experience of families who are blindsided by a diagnosis like this.

“For Dawn and Billy, like many parents, Evan’s diagnosis turns their world upside down so unexpectedly. It’s been inspiring to hear the stories of strength, resilience and also to hear of the incredible NHS staff who do such invaluable work when parents’ are at their lowest, so I hope we can also reflect this as we approach this storyline.”

Colin Dyer, CEO at Leukaemia Care commented: “Every year 10,000 people are diagnosed with leukaemia in the UK. A leukaemia diagnosis can affect not just the patient, but also their loved ones such as friends and family.

“The Baby Evan storyline being featured on Emmerdale, is helping to deliver a very important message not just about the awareness of the symptoms and the condition, but about how it affects the family and those around them.” Emmerdale boss Laura said of the plot: “Evan’s leukaemia diagnosis will come abruptly and without warning for Dawn and Billy, like it does for many parents who find themselves facing this devastating situation.

“Working closely with Leukaemia Care, it’s vital to us that we portray this story as accurately and sensitively as possible and do justice to those faced with a diagnosis like this and highlight the severe impact a long term illness like this can have on families lives.” Speaking to The Mirror this week, Laura confirmed the storyline and said: “We are going to see their world totally rocked when almost out of nowhere Evan is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

“ALL is one of the most common childhood leukaemias. I think 650 children and young adults are diagnosed every year in the UK. What we really want to show with this story is just what a stress and a strain it can put on a family, a long-term illness like that.

“What we see is the roles of Dawn and Billy are changed overnight and out of nowhere. We will see how Lucas and Clemmie are affected and the stress it will put on that sibling dynamic.

“We’ll see how it affects Billy and Dawn’s relationship and the wider family and all their friends, and the financial pressure that looking after a child like this long-term can put on a whole family. So that’s going to be a big story for us going forward.”