Ross Barton

Ross Barton
Emmerdale character
Portrayed by Michael Parr
Duration 2013–
First appearance 9 July 2013
Introduced by Kate Oates
Classification Present; regular
Profile
Occupation Mechanic
Career criminal
Home Dale View

Ross Barton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Michael Parr.[1]

He made his first screen appearance on 9 July 2013.[2] His storylines have included attacking Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy),[3] having a number of flings, discovering that he is the father of Charity Dingle's (Emma Atkins) son Moses,[4] and his relationships with Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth) and Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb).[5]

On 6 August 2015, Ross was thought to have been killed accidentally by his brother Pete (Anthony Quinlan).[6] However, it was revealed on 25 August 2015 that Ross had survived his head injury, as he was seen in a hospital bed. On 22 October 2015, during the rewind episode, Ross was revealed as Robert Sugden's (Ryan Hawley) mystery shooter after agreeing to shoot Robert following a talk with his adoptive brother Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher), who was attempting to murder Robert himself.

Storylines

Ross attacks Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), while she is waiting in her car. Laurel manages to escape and Ross takes the car. Laurel later tracks Ross down and tries to attack him with a pair of scissors, but she becomes scared of Ross. Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) rescue Laurel. Ross later comes to Butler's Farm looking for Cain, after he is shot while carrying out a job that Cain had initially intended to undertake himself. Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb) realises Ross is the son of her late husband's brother, James (Bill Ward), and she allows him to stay at the farm.

Ross generally seems to believe he is a ladies' man and his wandering eye irritates various people. Ross has sex with Charity Sharma (Emma Atkins), as she is intent on making estranged husband Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) jealous. He is seen on occasions with a woman called Laura Atkinson (Farrel Hegarty), and Ross's lodger Debbie Dingle's (Charley Webb) daughter, Sarah (Sophia Amber Moore) becomes fond of her. Debbie tells Sarah she will probably never see Laura again.

Ross becomes close to Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth), who he enjoys flirting with and teasing. He realises she is a dodgy policewoman and he agrees to help her burgle the house of Gary North, a prolific local criminal. However, Pete overhears Donna saying that she is only luring him into this position so she can arrest him, as she is fully aware of his previous crimes. But Donna convinces Ross that she was only saying it to keep things under wraps and they go ahead with the burglary. Later on Gary North attacks Ross' brother, Finn (Joe Gill), and nearly kills him. To keep his family safe, Ross agrees to do a dodgy job for Gary. Everything goes terribly wrong and the outcome of the job leads Donna to throw herself of a building while handcuffed to Gary to their deaths. Ross is left devastated.

Ross and Debbie begin an affair after weeks of flirting, whilst she is engaged to his brother Pete (Anthony Quinlan). They plan to run away a few days before the wedding, however Cain stops them and announces he is the father of Debbie's half-brother, Moses. Debbie panics and breaks up with Ross after Cain adds that Ross made a deal with Charity to keep the paternity of Moses quiet if he broke up Cain and his wife, Moira. Ross tells Finn everything and he manages to get the letter Debbie had addressed to Pete, in which she confesses to the affair and planning to run away with Ross, before Pete can read it. Debbie and Pete still intend to get married.

On the wedding day, Cain ties Ross up and puts him into the back of a van, which he parks at the edge of a cliff. Ross escapes by jumping into water below and is unconscious for a while. When he wakes up, he goes back to the village to witness Cain and Pete putting a lifeless Debbie into the car as a result of a helicopter crash. He goes to the hospital and asks Pete whether Debbie is alive; Pete does not respond, worrying Ross. Ross goes back upstairs to see Debbie, but Pete sees him again and attacks him. Security guards throw them out of the hospital, but they continue to fight outside. After Ross punches Pete to the ground and goads him, Pete charges at Ross, causing him to hit his head on a stone wall. Pete keeps punching him, but stops when Ross is unresponsive. Instead of finding help for his dying brother, Pete places Ross into the boot of his car and drives to the woods, where he hides him a ditch and covers his body with leaves.

3 weeks later, Pete and James went to the woods to find the body of Ross, but it was nowhere to be seen. The pair return to inform Chas, Cain and Debbie that the body is gone and that they believe he is still alive. Unbeknownst to anybody, Ross is lying in a hospital bed but in a coma. The next day, Ross wakes up from the coma. The hospital thought that he was named Stephen having found a passport given to him by Cain. Ross tried to get out of talking to the police and left the hospital, returning home. He found Pete and they argued about the events with Ross being angry that Pete had told everyone what he had done and not been reported to the police. He collapsed when he tried to punch Pete and returned to the hospital where his parents and Finn were reunited with him. Ross shocked everyone when he forgave Pete for his actions but later kidnaps Pete and ties him to a bridge and was gonna make him look like he committed suicide.

Casting

The character and Parr's casting was officially announced on 24 October 2013.[2] On joining the show, Michael Parr stated "I am thrilled to be playing a regular character in Emmerdale. It was always the plan that Laurel's carjacker would be revealed as Moira's nephew – Ross Barton. It has been fun keeping his identity and my role a secret. Although I did nearly burst from wanting to tell people. Ross is a great character and there is lots to come for him in future episodes."[2]

Development

Ross was involved in a storyline where brother Pete played by Anthony Quinlan (pictured) was believed to have killed him.

Speaking of Ross' character, Parr explained "He [Ross] is a nasty piece of work, but nobody is just one thing. There are many levels to Ross, but all that we've seen so far is him just being a nasty piece of work. Over time you may see another side to him but predominantly he is that."[7] Asked if Ross feels any guilt about what he's putting Laurel, Parr responded "There is an element of guilt but also he's out for himself - he's just trying to survive. Ross is an adapter, he's just doing whatever he has to do to get by"

In May 2014, in an interview with Digital Spy, Parr revealed that Ross makes a surprising alliance with Donna Windsor portrayed by Verity Rushworth. Asked what Ross makes of Donna, Parr replied "Donna is an attractive girl, but Ross knows that she's a police officer, so he doesn't trust her. Ross finds himself attracted to Donna and she has approached him with these deals to make money, so he's intrigued by her to start with."[8]

Baby reveal

Emmerdale had a "Who's the daddy?" storyline in 2015 where it was a revealed after months of speculation that Ross was the father of Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) baby Moses. Speaking about the twist, Parr, said: "I was chuffed to bits. I like working with kids and I have got a good relationship with Amelia, who plays April. I've got little sisters and I have always grown up around children. I got told that it was going to be a mystery and I had to keep my mouth zipped up. It has been good - a lot of people have guessed but I have never let anything go." Parr also teased that the latest twist will have huge repercussions for everyone involved if Debbie does eventually find out. He said: "When Debbie finds out, she is obviously going to react. But how she will react and if she will actually find out, we will have to wait and see."[9] Other potential suspects included Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) and Declan Macey (Jason Merrells).

Fake death

On 6 August 2015, an episode aired where Ross got into a fight with brother Pete Barton (Anthony Quinlan) resulting in Pete seemingly killing Ross and dumping his body in the woods.[10] Parr spoke of his 'exit' saying: "I'm sorry that I've had to keep this one a secret from you guys, Thank you so much for all your support over the last couple of years. I've had so much fun playing Ross. Thank you, keep watching the show, stay tuned and it's goodbye from me!"[11] A petition to bring Ross back gained over 5,000 supporters.[12] However a shock twist in an episode broadcast on 25 August 2015, where it was revealed that Ross had survived and was seen opening his eyes in a hospital bed. Discussing the huge secrecy involved in the storyline twist, Parr: "It's been difficult, fun and exciting. I've had to sneak in and out of the building at work to avoid being seen by fans outside, and I've even had to lie to family! People aren't idiots, so some people in my family have asked what I've been up to. I said that I've been working but I made a story up that I had a new job in a hotel. There's been a bit of speculation that Ross wasn't dead, so I've also been trying to throw people off. I was tweeting lies about going for auditions and stuff like that, so it's been good fun. The reactions I've had have been quite funny, actually - I've had so many different ones. It was funny when people were saying, 'You'll get something bigger' or 'This is going to be good for you, you'll get a film off the back of this'. I was thinking, 'No not really, because I'm still under contract!'"[13]

Reception

Parr was nominated for Sexiest Male and Best Newcomer at the 2014 British Soap Awards.

References

  1. ↑ Gilmour, Lyndsey (10 November 2014). "Emmerdale's bad boy Michael Parr: "I've got a good menacing stare"". Mirror. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Kilkelly, Daniel (24 October 2013). "'Emmerdale' unveils new regular Ross Barton in storyline twist". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (3 June 2013). "'Emmerdale's Laurel Thomoas to be brutally attacked in car-jacking". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Price, Annie (1 July 2015). "Emmerdale: Ross Barton revealed as the father of Charity Dingle's baby". Sunday Express. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Emmerdale drama as Donn and Ross head for 'huge' steamy storyline". STV. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Lindsay, Duncan (6 August 2015). "Emmerdale spoilers: Pete Barton KILLS brother Ross - and frames Cain Dingle for murder?". Metro. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Daniel Kilkelly (26 November 2013). "'Emmerdale': Michael Parr reveals new Ross Barton twists". Digital Spy.
  8. ↑ Daniel Kilkelly (19 May 2014). "Emmerdale's Michael Parr: 'Ross develops feelings for Donna'". Digital Spy.
  9. ↑ Sophie Dainty (30 June 2015). "Emmerdale's Michael Parr on Charity baby reveal: 'I was chuffed to bits'". Digital Spy.
  10. ↑ Daniel Kilkelly (6 August 2015). "Emmerdale kills off a Barton as Ross and Pete's feud leads to tragedy". Digital Spy.
  11. ↑ Rachel Babbage (6 August 2015). "Emmerdale's Michael Parr speaks out after Ross's exit: 'I'm sorry I had to keep it a secret'". Digital Spy.
  12. ↑ Katy Finbow (16 August 2015). "Petition to bring Ross Barton back to Emmerdale crosses 5,000 signature mark". Digital Spy.
  13. ↑ Daniel Kilkelly (25 August 2015). "Emmerdale's Michael Parr on shock return: 'Ross Barton will want revenge'". Digital Spy.

See also

External links

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