‘There’s always going to be fireworks’ Emmerdale’s Mike Parr teases Ross Barton’s return and reuniting with former flame
MIKE Parr teased ‘fireworks’ with a former flame for his character, Ross Barton, amid his explosive return to Emmerdale.
Ross Barton (Mike Parr) returned in Monday night’s episode of Emmerdale during an unlicensed boxing match, where he was revealed as Billy Fletcher’s (Jay Kontzle) opponent.
Ross was last seen in Emmerdale in 2018 when he decided to leave for a fresh start in Liverpool along with his girlfriend, Rebecca White and her baby son Seb.
Ross originally planned to take Moses with him, but Charity found out and threatened to take him on in court. He hasn’t been seen since.
Now, he’s back in the Dales to what the actor calls “home,” and shared that he returned because he couldn’t resist the great storyline.
Viewers first see him return ready to fight Billy, and it is revealed he is quite a prominent figure in the underground boxing world, but how did he get there?
Mike explained: “Ross is a very feckless character, and he’s always got an eye open for a quick buck, and there’s money to be made in this Bare Knuckle thing.
“And I also have to think about somebody with the psyche of Ross, somebody who’s lost his mum, lost his dad, lost his brother. What kind of mind frame are you in when you’ve lost all those people?”
With Ross also having a past connection to Billy’s wife Dawn, Mike teased: “There’s always going to be a rivalry if there’s a potential love interest in the middle of it all. He’s really met his match because Billy’s much younger and more athletic than Ross is.”
Ross and Charity have been co-parenting Moses all this time, but could the former flames rekindle their romance?
Mike said: “You really can’t hate somebody who’s doing a great job of raising your most beloved possession.
“But it’s Ross, and it’s Charity. There’s always going to be fireworks. They’ve got the history, but is there still a spark there?
“And does Ross want to rekindle? Or is he just doing it because there’s a stepfather role in Moses’ life now, and that is obviously not going to play well with Ross.”
He also teased tension with Mack as “they’re going to definitely clash and fight over the affections of Moses.”
Talking about training for his return scenes, Mike added: “I’m very lucky that I’ve done martial arts since I was 19. I’m a big UFC fan, that’s my favourite sport to watch. But yes, I think my martial arts training has come in handy for Ross’ scenes.”
However, this has resulted in “quite bad injuries over the years, I’ve broken hands, I’ve broken my ankle, I’ve damaged my sciatic nerve in my back.”
Best soap affair love triangles
LOVE triangles are a fundamental part of soap-land, but which ones have become the most iconic?
EASTENDERS
Bradley/Stacey/Max: Stacey Slater began an affair with boyfriend Bradley Branning’s dad Max in 2007.
Despite their romps, Stacey still married Bradley, but their deceit came out in an iconic Christmas Day episode that year.
Grant/Sharon/Phil: Heading even further back in Walford history, EastEnders fans were gripped in the 90s as Sharon Watts had a one-night stand with her brother-in-law Phil Mitchell.
Sharon confided in best friend Michelle Fowler – not realising it was caught on tape – and her husband Grant eventually found out and played it in front of everyone at the Queen Vic.
Syed/Amira/Christian: Syed Masood was engaged to Amira before realising he had feelings for another man, Christian, which he confessed to him on his wedding day.
A devout Muslim, Syed refused to admit his true sexuality and went ahead and married Amira anyway, but when they returned, the two men started an affair before being caught in the act by Amira.
CORONATION STREET
Shelley/Peter/Lucy: Peter Barlow took the concept of a love triangle and ran with it in Coronation Street – extending it to bigamy.
He was in a relationship with Shelley Unwin but started dating Lucy Richards, and quickly married her after she fell pregnant with his son, Simon.
But it didn’t stop him also marrying Shelley, but he was eventually caught when Lucy turned up in Weatherfield and the two women confronted him.
Ken/Deidre/Mike: Back in 1982, Deirdre Barlow started sleeping with her husband’s nemesis Mike Baldwin in secret, before confessing all a year later.
When Mike turned up at the marital home, Deirdre was being throttled by her husband who then kicked her out, but years later they reconciled.
Maria/Aidan/Eva: In 2017, Aidan Connor started sleeping with girlfriend Eva Price’s best friend, Maria Connor.
Eva eventually found out and she decided to take revenge by faking a pregnancy, spending his money and planned to confront him on their wedding day.
But she had a change of heart when a remorseful Aidan confessed, and decided to marry him anyway, only for Maria to arrive and expose her fake pregnancy.
EMMERDALE
Ross/Debbie/Pete: Debbie Dingle found herself torn between two brothers, Ross and Pete Barton in 2015 in Emmerdale.
She eventually decided to marry Pete but yet again, a soap wedding day was ruined when the groom learned of his bride’s betrayal via a recording played at the wedding.
Chrissie/Robert/Aaron: Robert Sugden was married to Chrissie White and all seemed well – until he began a steamy affair with Aaron Dingle.
Robert’s ex Katie Sugden almost exposed the affair – but fell to her death before she had the chance.
However, a guilty Aaron eventually cracked and told Chrissie about the affair – after which she announced it to the whole pub.
Mike first joined Emmerdale in 2013, became a fan favourite for his portrayal of the complex-but-charismatic Ross
During his time on the show, Ross was also known for his tumultuous relationships with Donna Windsor and Debbie Dingle.
His first relationship culminated sadly in Donna’s suicide, when she fell with dodgy criminal Gary North off the roof of a car park.
Having truly loved Donna, Ross was absolutely devastated by her death.
Ross later began a secret affair with Debbie Dingle, who was engaged to his brother Pete.
This ended when it was revealed that Ross had a one night stand with Debbie’s mother, Charity, conceiving baby Moses.
Ross also became involved in many dangerous schemes, including a plot to kill his brother Pete.
But, he is most notably remembered for the heart-wrenching storyline which saw him battle with depression during his recovery from a devastating acid attack.
With old wounds still to heal, his presence in the village is likely to stir up feelings and ignite some new rivalries.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 or watch from 7am on ITVX.