When the casting of Oliver Farnworth as John Sugden was announced by the Emmerdale bosses it was teased that the character would ‘catch the eye of an unsuspecting resident.’
Speculation went into overdrive that this could mean that John would embark on a relationship with Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), which would be particularly interesting given the huge popularity of Aaron’s relationship with Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) – who turns out to be John’s half brother.
Oliver Farnworth confirmed to us that this could well be on the cards for his character.
‘We find out quite quickly that he’s got a military past, he’s openly gay,’ he told us. ‘He does ruffle a few feathers, and he does kind of, you know, catch the eye of the odd person.’
Since Aaron is currently the only openly gay male character on Emmerdale apart from Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke), it seems like a fairly safe bet that Aaron and John will get together. If they do, Oliver cautioned that this could well be a slow-burner.
‘At the moment, relationship wise, that’s not fully realised, but we’ll see,’ he said.
As the character settles into the Dales, we’ll start to learn about his background and personality as he interacts with a lot of different characters, as Oliver shared.
‘He’s got a pretty amazing backstory. Obviously, half-brother to Victoria (Isabel Hodgins), which we find out quite quickly. But there’s a whole lot of depth to him, and little bits just kind of coming out now, but it’s been a whirlwind. I’ve been here, there and everywhere. I’ve been on all the sets. We’ve been on location, been driving vans, been getting up to all sorts of mischief. So, it’s been absolutely brilliant.’
Growing up in Yorkshire, Oliver told us that Emmerdale had always been a ‘fixture’ in his life, so he is aware of the history of the Sugden family in the show. This was something he had to put aside, as John Sugden initially has no knowledge of the Sugdens’ history in Emmerdale and he has no desire to be part of it.
‘He knows he is a Sugden, but I don’t think he understands the relevance of that name,’ he explained.
‘I think at the beginning he’s not particularly interested, which is hard to play, because I know the relevance of that name as an actor, and you kind of feel like you’re sort of dissing everyone. But I think the longer he spends here, possibly the more of his past will be revealed and the more interested he will become, and the more he will embody that.
‘There’s a lot to him, and a lot of stuff in the initial character breakdown that was hinted at but wasn’t necessarily revealed, because obviously, they don’t like to give too much away too quickly. And I’m still finding stuff out about him, but really.’
One thing Oliver is very aware of is the huge fan interest in the Robert Sugden/Aaron Dingle pairing, and that there’s likely to be a massive reaction if John and Aaron do get together. It’s something he feels he’s prepared for.
‘I welcome it. I welcome it,’ he smiled. ‘Absolutely no problem.’
