Emmerdale star reveals heartbreaking storyline for Bear: 'He's got nothing'

It has been an unsettling time for Bear in Emmerdale and things are only about to get worse for the character, played by Joshua Richards. The father of Paddy Dingle (Dominic Brunt), has been acting out of the ordinary in recent weeks, behaving angrily and aggressively before immediately returning to his usual self as pretending nothing happened. Bear had originally planned to visit a friend in Ireland, with Paddy agreeing to drive him for the first leg of his journey.

But the duo were stopped in their tracks when they spotted a stray sheep on Celia's (Jaye Griffiths) caught in a fence. Paddy was then attacked by a dog and Bear was forced to come to his rescue. But after Paddy thanked his dad for saving him, Bear launched a shocking character assassination on his son after he was attacked by a dog, leaving Paddy devastated. After another altercation with Celia, Paddy's sadness turned to fury and he kicked Bear out of the house, unaware that his visit to Ireland had been cancelled.

Opening up about Bear's behaviour, Joshua exclusively told Express Online and other press: "I think he's lashing out because he feels vulnerable and also he's a man who, in the past, has been incredibly physically strong and has earned his living from being strict and healthy.

"There's no status anymore and I think status for somebody who was an athlete and somebody who had a great deal of respect and prowess in the ring suddenly has nothing and I think it's dignity. If you have no dignity left then you can start lashing out because you do feel vulnerable and you're open to attack."

While Bear has convinced himself that Paddy and Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) are getting sick of him and want him to leave, Joshua confirms it is all in Bear's head.

The soap star continued: "He thinks they're going to turn around and tell him to sling his hook because they need to do their own stuff. That's in his mind but I don't think it's in Paddy or Mandy's mind.

"He's harbouring it but they haven't even thought about it until of course, he makes it obvious that this is a problem. But I don't think they've thought about it at all, they're more than happy."

Fans were left wondering where Bear ended up after he drove away from the village. The answer is finally revealed next week when viewers discover Bear has been camping out in his filthy car.

In a heartbreaking twist, Joshua likened Bear's current state to someone who is suffering with dementia.

He explained: "I think he's too humiliated to go back. But also it's more than that, it's the confusion of who am I? What's my purpose in life and what do I do? And to have a revelation of that age, because he's 78, is a big thing to do and it's almost like somebody with dementia stumbling off into the countryside not knowing where they are or what their purpose in life is