Emmerdale breaks silence on Monty the Dog to reassure worried fans
No dogs were harmed in the filming of the episode!
Recent Emmerdale scenes saw the Dingles’ beloved dog Monty face worrying health complications after getting trapped in a burning shed.
After falling out with dad Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), Kyle Winchester (Huey Quinn) turned to his favourite unhealthy coping mechanism, arson, unaware that Monty was inside the shed he’d set alight.
Though Cain managed to rescue Monty from the blaze, vet Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) explained that he had suffered some serious smoke inhalation.
After further tests, Paddy broke the devastating news that Monty may have cancer.
Though things are looking bleak for Monty in the ITV soap, real life is a different story.
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.
‘We take care of our dogs… whether they’re real or fake!’ The official account wrote in a comment beside the clip, which revealed how they had used a fake dog while filming the fire scenes.
Fans were very appreciative of the extra Monty content, with one commenting: ‘What a gorgeous dog, plenty of treats for doing those scenes!’
‘Love Monty,’ another said, while a third added: ‘Aww Monty is lovely!’
Emmerdale fans have proved to be big dog lovers in the past, having taken both Monty and Belle Dingle’s (Eden Taylor-Draper) pooch Piper into their hearts.
In fact, one of Emmerdale’s most complained-about stories involved a dog-napping plot.
In 2016, 448 viewers complained to Ofcom after Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Ross Barton (Michael Parr) came up with a plan to hold a dog for ransom, fearing that the story would encourage similar crimes in real life.
However, Ofcom dropped the investigation, with a spokesperson explaining:
‘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.’
