Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) was once again reminded that April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) isn’t a little girl anymore as he discovered she had slept with a random boy at a party.
Ever since April returned to the village, the main thing Marlon has struggled with is knowing what boundaries to create for her.
He’s terrified about losing her to the streets again so he implements rules, but they make April feel smothered and like a young child. On the other hand, when the rules aren’t as strict and April has more freedom, it leads to problems such as bringing her friend Dylan (Fred Kettle) over.
This week, it felt like Marlon and April turned a corner.
In tonight’s episode, April mentioned to Marlon that Arthur (Alfie Clarke) had invited her over with a few other friends. Marlon encouraged April to go along, but the dynamic between her and her peers was awkward.
The group were all similar in age but April feels older due to the experiences she went through on the streets. As a result, it left her feeling as though playing video games and chatting was kind of boring.
When she went into the kitchen, April got talking to another lad and eventually, they started to flirt.
Meanwhile, Marlon and Rhona (Zoe Henry) were trying to enjoy some time together. Unfortunately, Marlon’s mind was solely on April and very quickly, he convinced himself that checking in on her would be a good idea.
Just as Marlon and Rhona walked through Mulberry Cottage though, they saw April and the lad walking down the stairs adjusting their clothes. Poor April was utterly humiliated and ran out.
In the village, Rhona attempted to confront April but Marlon told her to stop. Again, his fear of losing his daughter overwhelmed him – but Rhona argued that it wasn’t a moment to give April space.
She said that Marlon needs to stop being April’s friend and be her dad again because if he doesn’t lay out better ground rules, the version she was before she ran away definitely won’t ever return.
As much as challenging April’s behaviour scares him, Marlon knew that Rhona was right.
