And actor John Middleton has revealed that people have been stopping him in the street to say thank you for his moving portrayal of dementia on the ITV soap.
The 63-year-old said he was 'immensely proud' of the response that he has received for the heartbreaking storyline.
He's set to leave Emmerdale after playing vicar Ashley Thomas for two decades.
The 63-year-old said he was 'immensely proud' of the response that he has received for the heartbreaking storyline.
He told The Mirror: 'People are stopping me in the streets saying thank you for doing this, and that is in many ways the best award.
'Particularly when you are talking to people who have got direct contact with this disease, who have lost loved ones to it, or who are caring for people with it, or people who have the disease.
'They say thank you for portraying it so accurately, so that makes me immensely proud.'
John's final scenes are set to be aired on ITV this week, with Monday night's episode showing Ashley's wife Laurel - played by Charlotte Bellamy - taking him home to die after doctors told her there was nothing else they could do for her husband.
Last week, viewers were left in tears after Ashley was rushed to hospital after he collapsed and began coughing up blood at his care home.
Loyal viewers have watched the character battle degenerative vascular dementia, commonly caused by problems in the blood supply to the brain, following his shock diagnosis in 2015.Ashley’s illness took another devastating turn at the end of last month, after he once again forgot heartbroken wife Laurel’s name.
Laurel, who has been wrestling with her conscience after placing Ashley in care, then handed her wedding ring to her husband in a hope that he would remember who she was.
She was left upset when he passed it to his new friend Maggie and later attempted to retrieve the ring – only to get a slap in the face.
Returning to Beckindale following another difficult visit, she unloaded her emotional baggage on close friend Marlon Dingle, telling him: ‘It was terrible, when I got there he didn’t even want to talk to me but then it seemed to get better and I know I sound like a terrible person but there’s this woman, Maggie.
‘And I know he doesn’t remember anything and it’s not his fault and he doesn’t know what he’s doing but he kept holding her hand and he didn’t really want me there.
‘I didn’t know what to do, I just felt so jealous. I ran, I didn’t even say goodbye and all the staff saw.’
John, who joined the soap as resident vicar Ashley in 1996, confirmed his departure from the soap in December.
'I’m incredibly sad about leaving,' he told The Sun. 'I’m somewhat institutionalised but at the same time I’m very excited.
Reflecting on Ashley's degenerative illness, he added: 'It’s an everyday that most people don’t see because it’s hidden.
'We want to portray something people can identify with and think to themselves, "We’re not alone."'
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