Emmerdale has broken its silence on Monty the Dog to reassure worried fans following a distressing storyline. Recent episodes saw the Dingles' beloved pet trapped in a burning shed set alight by Kyle Winchester, played by Huey Quinn, as part of his unhealthy coping mechanism after falling out with his father Cain Dingle, portrayed by Jeff Hordley. Cain managed to rescue Monty from the blaze, but vet Paddy Kirk, played by Dominic Brunt, later revealed that the dog had suffered serious smoke inhalation. Further tests delivered the devastating news that Monty may have cancer.
Behind-the-scenes video shows care for canine co-star
Following the terrifying scenes, Emmerdale released a behind-the-scenes video on social media showing how well looked after the cast's canine co-star is. The clip revealed that a fake dog was used during filming of the fire scenes. The official account wrote in a comment: 'We take care of our dogs… whether they’re real or fake!'
Fans were appreciative of the extra Monty content, with one commenting: 'What a gorgeous dog, plenty of treats for doing those scenes!' Another said: 'Love Monty,' while a third added: 'Aww Monty is lovely!'
Previous dog-related storylines sparked complaints
Emmerdale fans have proven to be big dog lovers in the past, having taken both Monty and Belle Dingle's pooch Piper into their hearts. In 2016, a dog-napping plot involving Charity Dingle, played by Emma Atkins, and Ross Barton, played by Michael Parr, generated 448 complaints to Ofcom. Viewers feared the storyline would encourage similar crimes in real life.
However, Ofcom dropped the investigation. A spokesperson explained: 'We received a number of complaints about the risk that a storyline involving an attempted theft of a dog could encourage similar behaviour. We found that the scenes were not likely to condone or encourage people to attempt dog theft, taking into account the dramatic context and that the characters involved were clearly not role models. It was clear to viewers they were behaving in a morally questionable manner, and the attempt to capture a dog failed.'
