Mark Charnock cried on set "for the first time" while shooting Emmerdale's Christmas Day (25.12.11) episode.
The 37-year-old actor - who portrays Marlon Dingle in the ITV1 soap - explained while the past few festive periods on the Yorkshire-based show have been relatively quiet, this year will see a number of emotional storylines come to a head.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "On Emmerdale we've had two or three Christmases where the episodes have been quite quiet, but that all changes this year.
"This is the first time I've actually cried on set."
Mark revealed as well as his alter-ego's steamy affair with vicar's wife Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) wrapping up at Christmas, Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) will also be centrally involved in a particularly emotional ploy.
He added: "The Christmas Day episode will see Debbie's storyline come to a head as well as Laurel and Marlon's relationship reach breaking point.
"It's one of the most emotional things we've done in a long time. It's a fantastic piece of drama."
