Yahoo Finance Exclusive: Emmerdale's Chris Bisson on personal connection to Jai's emotional story
Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale star Chris Bisson has opened up about his personal connection to Jai Sharma's upcoming storyline.
Jai will face a big decision with his partner Laurel in upcoming episodes after discovering that they're expecting a baby together.
When the couple learn that their child will be born with Down's syndrome, they ultimately make the decision that Laurel will have a termination – after some very difficult and intense conversations.
Speaking on Digital Spy's Soap Scoop podcast, Chris – who plays Jai – explained: "It's a difficult story for me, I'll be quite straight about that.
"I have a cousin who has Down's syndrome, and he has been the centre of our family. I've had to have difficult conversations with both charities and with family as well.
"I had to speak to my auntie because my cousin is a massive Emmerdale fan, and I wanted her to know that this story was coming.
"I also wanted to work out if he [his cousin] would be watching it and whether he would process the information or interpret the information in the way we play it, whether he would be able to make sense of that, whether it would be upsetting for him."
Discussing the extensive preparation he did for the storyline, Chris added: "I did a lot of research for this part, and we had some case studies as well.
"The conversations with the case studies were some of the most heartbreaking conversations that I've ever had to have when researching a storyline. It was very important to me to play those truthfully, honestly."
Fans can hit 'play' on the podcast embed in this article to hear our full interview with Chris, where he also discussed the show's Christmas plans, and the future for Laurel and Jai
New episodes of Digital Spy's Soap Scoop podcast drop every Friday at 8am and are available on all major platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Emmerdale airs weekdays from 7pm on ITV.
Sands supports anyone affected by the death of a baby. You can contact the Sands National Helpline on 0808 164 3332, or email helpline@sands.org.uk.
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