Mica Proctor studied Emma Atkins’ mannerisms intently to make sure she could do her ‘Emmerdale’ part "justice".
The former ‘Doctors’ actress will portray a younger version of Emma’s Charity Dingle character in next week’s special flashback episode, which will delve into the landlady’s troubled past, and Mica admits she found it "nerve-racking" taking on such an important role.
She said: "I did watch Emma beforehand. I’m a bit of a crazy ‘Emmerdale’ fan anyway but I watched her more intensely and made sure I had the correct mannerisms and held myself the way she did.
"It was a little bit nerve-racking finding out that I was going to be playing such a big character.
"I felt like I really needed to do the character justice as she was only 14 when this terrible thing happened and she’d been through a lot but I also needed to make sure that I got the mannerisms right.
"I watched Emma Atkins play Charity on screen and I looked at the way she held herself; how she crossed her arms quite a lot; the way she walked. I wanted to interpret it into the younger Charity."
While Mica mainly resembles a young Charity, she had to teach herself to put in green contact lenses to take on the role.
She added: "I didn’t have to do much but I have got blue eyes so I had to wear green contact lenses. I had to teach myself how to put those in.
"My hair was pretty similar so we just curled it and the clothes were 90s style which were awesome."
‘Emmerdale’ teamed up with North Yorkshire’s Rape Unit for guidance on the flashback episode, which comes following the recent revelation that Charity was groomed and raped by police officer Mark Bails – played by Rocky Marshall – when she was just 14 years old.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Rape Unit said: "This is the third occasion that we have assisted ‘Emmerdale’ with the storylines they have run around safeguarding and incidents involving victims of serious sexual crimes.
"They are so careful to ensure that they are portraying events correctly and providing the right information. They have always made sure the facts are correct and that victims can, and do get, the help and support they may need."
Mica Proctor studied Emma Atkins before Emmerdale episode
