Emmerdale favourite Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) woke to heartbreak on Christmas Day as it was revealed that his daughter April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) had decided to run away.
The teenager has been spiralling in recent weeks after learning that her mother Donna took the decision to commit suicide 15 years ago - and now she has gone missing.
In the coming weeks the villagers will search for April in the hopes that she is still alive, while Marlon will start to piece together the devastating reasons that she absconded.
"Marlon has recently been struggling with his relationship with April but never imagined he would be in such a heartbreaking situation this Christmas," said the soap's producer Laura Shaw.
"In the coming weeks, as the search for April intensifies, we explore the emotional turmoil a family faces when a young person goes missing. We are so grateful to the charity Missing People for their invaluable help and support with this storyline."
Emmerdale continues weekdays from 7am on ITVX and at 7.30pm on ITV1.
Neil Wilkes
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