Paddy Kirk has been an Emmerdale staple since 1997 and has brought plenty of dramatic storylines to the popular soap

It almost seemed like Emmerdale’s Paddy Kirk’s was about to get his happy ending as he prepared to marry first love, Mandy Dingle.

But it seems it may not be a smooth route to the altar for these two love birds as he calls off the wedding after discovering his fiancee’s plan to get rid of her debt. Mandy – played by Lisa Riley – has turned to something called findomination, where she is given money and gifts for financial domination over her clients, in a bid to get rid of her debt before the wedding.

However, she had kept her scheme from Paddy and when he finds out he’s devastated – and furious – and doesn’t think he can marry his bride-to-be. Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy, has revealed it’s not the scheme itself that has left his character so angry but the fact Mandy tried to keep it from him. He said: “”It looks like he’s going to go mad because of what she’s doing, and then he says ‘you can do that, it isn’t that. But you have to tell me and include me and don’t lie.”

Will Emmerdale’s Mandy and Paddy get to the altar? (Image: ITV)

Away from the village, however, Dominic lives a much more sedate life with his wife, who has her own claim to fame. However, the couple were dealt a crushing blow when their beloved son was diagnosed with a devastating health condition. Dominic has played the iconic role since 1997 and has been the centre of some of TV’s biggest storylines. Throughout his time on the show, he has tied the knot to Mandy Dingle, Emily Dingle, Rhona Goskirk, and Chas Dingle but away from the soap his love life has been more stable. The actor is happily married to fellow soap star Joanne Mitchell and the pair have two sons together. The couple married in 2003 and are both alumni of The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Just like her husband, Joanne is an actor. She has worked alongside Dominic on Emmerdale in the past as she plays Liv Dingle’s mum, Sandra Flaherty. Joanne and Dominic are parents to two sons – Mickey-Joe and Danny Lee. Dominic has opened up in the past when their son Danny had to undergo heart surgery when he was just eight-months-old.

Appearing on This Morning, he said: “He had to go through major heart surgery at eight months, but he’s fine now. It’s the most horrific thing to have to go through as a parent but he’s football mad now – he’s completely fine – he has to check up once a year for the rest of his life. The people at Leeds Infirmary carry you through as parents because you don’t know what you’re doing and you’re given this information and you have to go through it. At the time it was horrific. You’re in the eye of the storm, it was horrible. You think you are going to lose your son.”

Dominic has also been working behind the scenes as well as his usual in front of the camera. The star organises an annual zombie film festival in Leeds with his Emmerdale co-star Mark Charnock. Dominic and his wife have also worked on several projects together such as co-founding Mitchell Brunt Films where Joanne works as a producer and writer on several of the company’s films. Despite this, Dominic has previously said that his loyalty lies with his Emmerdale job.

Appearing on Loose Women, he said: “It takes about two to four years to get the funding together and sometimes films collapse and sometimes they get up and go forward but it can be a very tricky situation, but I don’t want to ever do one of them by halves, so I only do them every few years. I’m happy with Emmerdale and I really love it. I’m a really big fan of the show and I’m very lucky. I’ve probably dodged a couple of bullets and I never ever take it for granted.”