Emmerdale's Billy and Dawn Fletcher left devastated in baby story
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Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale has confirmed that Billy and Dawn Fletcher's emotional new storyline will begin next week.
The ITV soap recently announced that the couple's baby son Evan will be diagnosed with leukaemia.
Emmerdale fans will see the plot begin next week when Dawn becomes confused over the sudden appearance of bruises on Evan's body.
Dawn contacts the local doctors surgery for some advice and Liam Cavanagh suggests that it's best to take Evan straight to A&E.
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Once Evan is admitted to hospital, a paediatrician suggests that blood tests are required to give him a firm diagnosis.
Billy and Dawn initially fear that they'll be wrongly accused of hurting Evan, especially after Dawn's difficult history with social services.
However, the paediatrician later returns and rules out the possibility of someone else being responsible for Evan's bruises, confirming that he's a very poorly baby.
The blood test results arrive and confirm that Evan has low haemoglobin and platelet levels, so the paediatrician suggests an urgent bone marrow biopsy as the next test.
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Dawn and Billy are left in turmoil as they're told that various possible reasons are still being considered, including an infection, autoimmune disease or leukaemia.
Dawn's father Will arrives at the hospital just as Evan is about to be taken off for his biopsy. He tries his best to comfort his struggling daughter.
The next day, Dawn and Billy are finally given a diagnosis for Evan, as the doctor confirms that he has leukaemia.
Will and his wife Kim Tate feel powerless to help Dawn and Billy as the family's worst fears are confirmed.
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Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw recently told us: "We're going to see [Dawn and Billy's] world totally rocked when, almost out of nowhere, Evan is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
"ALL is one of the most common childhood leukaemias. I think there's 650 children and young adults diagnosed with that every year in the UK.
"What we really wanted to show with this story is what a stress and strain a long-term illness like this can put on a family.
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"What we'll see is how the roles of Dawn and Billy are changed almost overnight and out of nowhere. We'll see how Lucas and Clemmie are affected and the stress that it puts on those sibling dynamics.
"We'll see how this affects Billy and Dawn's relationship, the wider family in Kim and Will, and all of their friends.
"There's also the financial pressure that looking after a child long-term like that can put on a whole family. That's going to be a big story for us going forward."
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
If you would like more information or support about living with cancer or treatment, please click here for guidance from Macmillan Cancer Support, or click here to learn more from Stand Up to Cancer.
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