Emmerdale’s Mike Parr hints legendary character never seen on screen could finally appear and wants TV icon to play them
EMMERDALE’S Mike Parr has teased that a legendary character, never seen on screen, could make a long-awaited appearance.
The Emmerdale actor Mike Parr – who plays Ross Barton – revealed who he wants to see back in the village.
Mike told the press: “I’ve got no Quinny [Anthony Quinlan] backing me up. Quinny played Pete Barton, my older brother and he’s just like my older brother in real life. We don’t see each other as much as we used to but we’re still in touch.”
Pete Barton, played by Anthony Quinlan, made his first screen appearance on 6 December 2013.
When Pete discovered that Moira (Natalie J. Robb) is cheating on husband Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), he keeps it from Cain.
When it emerged that Pete knew, Cain held him hostage and beat him.
Pete stopped working for Moira, and begins working at Kim Tate’s (Claire King) farm alongside Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).
Soon after, Pete felt there is nothing left in the village for him, and left in February 2020.
Mike continued: “I’d love Quinny back. Because Quinny had done Hollyoaks and stuff before, Quinny’s not that much older than me but he felt older as soon as he got here because he’d kind of walked the walk with the soaps stuff and being on TV.
“He really showed me and Joe [Gill] the ropes. There were so many things we didn’t know what to do and how to handle and Quinny is like a lovely, soft, fun person to be around. So I would love it.”
Mike also unveiled another character he would like to see that has never been on-screen before.
“There was this mythological Barton character called Nana Barton and I would love it – this is not happening but Sue Johnson, please come to Emmerdale.
“It would be my dream to work with you after watching you for so many years on Brookside and The Royle Family and stuff.
“I think she’s probably busy getting offers left, right and centre but if I could cast anybody to play a character that hasn’t been in the show – evil Nana Barton. Or maybe not evil – maybe she’s lovely!”
Sue Johnston OBE, 80, is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family, Grace Foley in the BBC drama Waking the Dead.
She also played Gloria Price in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and Miss Denker in the ITV drama Downton Abbey.
Forgotten soap storylines
The nation's soaps have had many gripping storylines play out over the years. However, some plots proved to be far less memorable. Here are some forgotten stories from Weatherfield, Walford and more...
- Ken and Audrey’s romance (2015): After the death of wife Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), Coronation Street original Ken Barlow (William Roache) started to move on in his life. He started to develop a spark with old friend Audrey (Sue Nicholls), with then-Corrie boss saying it would be like “Ross and Rachel”. In the end, nothing ever came of it and the two remained platonic pals.
- Beth’s bigamy (2016): Despite being happily married to Kirk (Andrew Whyment), a troubling secret came to light about Beth Tinker (Lisa George). It transpired that she had never divorced from her first husband, Darryl (Paul Loughran), father of her son Craig (Colson Smith). Although Craig and Kirk were shocked – and Beth was arrested – the storyline didn’t didn’t go much further.
- Kat Slater’s secret son (2017): Capitalising on the popularity of Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie (Shane Richie), the two received a spin-off back in 2017. Titled ‘Redwater’, it saw the two travel to Ireland where they met long-lost son Luke, now called Dermott Dolan, played by Oisín Stack. Despite the high-tension events during Redwater, Kat seems to have put the experience behind her as Dermott’s not been mentioned since.
- Alfie’s brain tumour (2015): Having learned in 2015 that he had a brain tumour, Alfie kept the news from Kat until their trip to Ireland. At the time, actor Shane Ritchie revealed fans would see a change in Alfie as he battled the illness. It would appear that at some point after leaving the Square, was told the tumour was non-malignant. By the time Alfie returned in 2022, fans were left confused over what had happened to the storyline.
- Kathy and Buster’s affair (2016): In 2016, Walford legend Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) fell into the arms of convict Buster Briggs, played by Karl Howman. Buster was the long-time lover of Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and fathered both her sons – Mick (Danny Dyer) and Dean (Matt Di Angelo). When Buster left, he begged Kathy to join him, but she refused for the sake of her family. Meanwhile Buster didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Shirley before exiting with a broken heart. Fans expected a showdown between the two women, but this never came to pass.
- Jacob’s OCD (2016): After his dad, David (Matthew Wolfenden), was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016, Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) developed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This manifested in the form of cleaning. Jacob’s OCD made a brief return one year on, after David had another scare after finding a lump. Jacob frantically searched the bins for a “lucky coin” that had accidentally been thrown away. Despite stressful situations – such as being groomed by his teacher Maya, losing his fiancee Leanna to a serial killer, dealing with mum Leyla’s drug addiction, and surviving a stabbing – the condition doesn’t appear to have returned.
- Marlon and Charity’s fling (2003): Few fans would likely remember few will remember the one-night stand between Charity (Emma Atkins) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) in 2003. The pair slept together when Charity was staying with Marlon while still under suspicion for husband Chris’s supposed “murder”.
- Alex Browning’s revenge plot (2014): Fans expected a confrontation when Dr Browning’s son Alex (Ojan Genc) mer stepmum Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe). After all, Mercedes, with Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin) had murdered Alex’s dad, double-murderer Dr Paul Browning, after he kidnapped and attacked his new wife. In fact, the soap teased Alex would seek revenge for his father’s death upon arriving. However, he instead gave Cindy’s son Hilton (his half-brother) a life-saving transplant, became his godfather, and leaving the village soon after.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.