Paddy Kirk’s (Dominic Brunt) brush with death has left him with a life-changing fear that could leave his career in tatters in Emmerdale.

While passing Celia’s (Jaye Griffiths) farm, Paddy saw a stricken sheep, and in his quest to rescue it, was mauled by Celia’s dog.

He needed life-saving surgery to pull through the first part of the ordeal, but now he’s living with the next part – a blinding fear of dogs.

It’s a difficult fear for a vet to manage, as Paddy is about to find out.

After a run-in with a barking dog left him a quivering wreck, Rhona (Zoe Henry) told him to take some time off. But he refused, berating himself for not being ‘man enough’ to handle the situation. But this was really Paddy ignoring the first sign that everything is not ok.

The next sign is that he lies to Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) about how he’s really feeling, putting on a brave face to mask the untold terror when he learns he’ll have to manage the vets alone for the day.

Everything starts off well until a large dog is brought in. Panic rises in Paddy’s throat, and he becomes frozen with fear, unable to treat the pet.