Emmerdale will feature a passionate story about a couple aborting their child because he has Down syndrome.

The series’ producer, Laura Shaw, described the episodes as “the saddest scenes ever”.

Laurel Thomas, played by Charlotte Bellamy, and her partner Jay Sharman (Chris Besson) find that her pregnancy is not developing well, and doctors offer them a test for chromosomal defects.

When the results show tot contains Down, they decide not to keep it.

Charlotte, 47, said: “Terminating pregnancy is an emotional topic, but I think what Emerdale does so brilliantly is portray difficult stories.”

“It was the most challenging and challenging writing assigned to our team,” added Laura.

Laurel and Jay face a devastating decision

The couple decided to abort their child with Down syndrome

The charity helped prenatal results and choices in the story.

“We are delighted that Emmerdale has dealt with this story in a sympathetic way,” said director Jane Fisher.

Every year about 5,000 women are miscarried due to fetal chromosome defects.

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