Emmerdale's Paddy Kirk is attacked by a vicious dog in scenes set to air next week. The local vet attempts to free a sheep stuck in a fence when he is approached by an aggressive dog.

The dog attacks Paddy, but despite being saved by Bear, it's clear that he is grievously injured. Despite the violent scenes, actor Dominic Brunt admitted he was excited to film them and couldn't speak highly enough of his "incredible" co-star, despite the Alsatian being extremely scary to work with.

Speaking to Express.co.uk and other press, the soap star said: "I was looking forward to it since I read it and kept thinking how they were going to do it.

"We had Mike Lacey, one of the best director's we've got and we met and this dog was this huge, jet black Alsatian. On cue, it would growl, drool, drivel. It was incredible."

Dominic continued: "It was really really scary. But you realised very soon that it was just a game for it. It had to attack me and pull me along the ground, which it did and I'm not a light man. It was just an incredible dog.

"And the funniest thing was its best friend was this chihuahua which was five per cent of its body mass. It was an incredible day."

The German Shepherd continued to amaze Dominic as he recalled: "The dog trainer said it could jump six feet in the air from standing still. I thought 'Alright, course it can'. Then she clicked her fingers and it leapt in the air, it was incredible."

The dog rips through an artery in Paddy's arm during the attack, leaving the vet concerned about children playing around the area where the dog is roaming free.

The incident also knocks Paddy's confidence and causes him to doubt his career as a vet.

"He thinks that he can't be a very anymore," Dominic explained. "But he doesn't know anything else, he has no other skills."

The star continued: "Before he came to Emmerdale he had a small life experience. He's not the most worldly wise person, he doesn't know anything else so he is worried about what he wants to do."

Wanting to get rid of the dog, owned by newcomer Celia (Jaye Griffiths), Paddy takes a bolt gun and heads up to her farm.

"He's clearly not thinking straight but he wants to go and get rid of the dog," Dominic said. "He doesn't want revenge but he's worried that this dog is absolutely dangerous."

He added: "It's on the loose. It's around where kids are and he wants to eliminate what's making him feel like that."