‘Emmerdale’s Matthew Wolfenden has to shave his head, his eyebrows and eyelashes for a shocking cancer storyline.
The 35-year-old actor – who portrays shop owner David Metcalfe in the soap – has agreed to lose his facial hair in order to shoot scenes for the forthcoming heartbreaking plot.
He explained: "I’m about to shave my head and lose my eyebrows, eyelashes – everything. I’ve always had facial hair so it will be a first for me. But as soon as I heard about the storyline I said I would just throw myself into it in every way to do it justice for the lads that have been through it."
But, although the star had no problem taking a razor to his hair, he has admitted his five-year-old son Buster, whom he has with his partner Charley Webb, burst into tears when he first told him he’d have no eyebrows or eyelashes for a while.
Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper, he explained: "One of the things has been explaining what will happen to Buster. I wanted to explain to him that I would be losing my hair and that daddy was going to look different for a while.
"When I first told him, he cried… But we’ve talked about it a lot now so he understands it’s for my job and why."
Meanwhile, the gripping storyline will kick off in tonight’s show (11.04.16) when Matthew’s alter-ego David learns he’s battling with an aggressive form of testicular cancer and will need to undergo chemotherapy as the disease has spread.
Emmerdale’s Matthew Wolfenden to shave head for cancer plot
