If you’ve been keeping up with ‘Emmerdale’ lately, you’ll know that recurring character Ashley Thomas has been suffering from dementia on the ITV soap.
Thomas, who is played by John Middleton, first appeared on the show in 1996.
The character first showed signs of dementia in 2015, and producers revealed that a show would air from his point of view to give viewers insight into what it is like to live with the condition.
In the special episode, aired this week, certain characters were recast to reflect the situation.
For example Aaron Dingle, regularly played by Danny Miller, was portrayed by Bryan Parry.
https://twitter.com/HannahEHadaway/status/811581217262944256
But they didn’t let on that there would be an easter egg in the episode, namely that the old ‘Emmerdale’ set was used in an attempt to show the world through his eyes.
And a handful of viewers spotted the change, and appreciated the lengths the makers of the show went to in order to provide a realistic approximation of dementia from the perspective of the sufferer.
Wow the old emmerdale set #Emmerdale
— Stacey💖 (@Stacey_MW_WL) December 20, 2016
them using the old emmerdale set was really clever
— Victoria Chadwick (@Mahfreddie) December 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/skc65_yks/status/811362183149973504
Wow Fantastic @emmerdale episode through Ashley's eyes loved the nod to the past seeing the stunning village of Esholt again.
— 🌈Rían Catharnaigh🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️👥🚂📺 (@Rhiskiboi91) December 20, 2016
