Emmerdale stalwart Dominic Brunt has voiced his worries about Paddy Kirk’s future as a vet. The loveable vet first trotted into the village in 1997, joining Zoe Tate’s (Leah Bracknell) veterinary practice as a locum. Fast forward nearly three decades, and Paddy is still tending to animals, but upcoming episodes might spell out major changes for him. In a forthcoming twist, Paddy, upon noticing a sheep entangled in fencing on newbie Celia’s (Jaye Griffiths) farm, dashes to aid the distressed animal. However, after freeing the sheep, Paddy is petrified when confronted by a menacing dog. Following an attack on Paddy, Bear Wolf (Joshua Roberts) swoops in to his rescue, yet it’s evident that Paddy’s injuries are serious, reports Leicestershire Live . As they wait anxiously at the hospital, Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) offers solace to a shaken Bear, all the while waiting for Paddy to return from surgery. Despite his relief for being alive thanks to his dad, Paddy and Mandy are horrified when Bear exploits the critical situation to besmirch his son’s reputation. Dominic opened up about the plotline to journalists, saying: “I don’t think there’s any risk of dying but it’s bad injury.” He continues: “He thinks he can’t be a vet anymore. He has no other skills and he had a very small life experience before he came to Emmerdale. He doesn’t know anything else but he is worried about what he’s going to do.” Bear’s cutting remarks clearly strike a chord with Paddy after Mandy ushers Bear out of the hospital room. Paddy later fetches the vets’ bolt gun from the cabinet and leaves with a sense of resolve. Things don’t go smoothly for Paddy when he takes Bear’s advice and goes to Celia’s farm to confront her. Upon his return, Paddy blames Bear for his disastrous meeting with Celia and vents all his frustration about his father’s treatment of him. After Paddy instructs Bear to move out, it appears that the rift between the two men is now irreparable, but will they manage to reconcile their differences? Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 7.30pm and available to stream from 7am on ITVX