Emmerdale star’s unusual set-up with EastEnders girlfriend Samantha Womack’s ex-husband
Emmerdale actor Oliver Farnworth, who plays bad boy John Sugden, has opened up about his relationship with EastEnders legend Samantha Womack - and her ex-husband who is also an Emmerdale star
Emmerdale’s newest bad boy, Oliver Farnworth, has opened up about his relationship with Samantha Womack’s ex-hubby.
The 41 year old actor, who’s been stirring up trouble in the Dales since his arrival this year, is off-screen all loved-up with EastEnders icon Samantha Womack, 51. The pair kicked off their romance back in 2019, just a year after Sam’s marriage with fellow actor Mark Womack, 63 ended.
Now, Oliver and Sam live in spain with Sam’s kids, Lily, 19, and Benjamin, 23, from her 19-year relationship with Mark. Mark’s no stranger to soapland either, having played copper Mark Malone in Emmerdale.
And it turns out it was Mark who nudged Oliver towards taking the Emmerdale role, reports Leeds Live. Chatting to The Mirror, Oliver revealed: ‘Mark is a good friend.
“I actually just spoke to him yesterday. And when I got offered [the part in Emmerdale], Mark told me it was a great job.
“He was full of praise for the place,” he continued. Delving deeper into Mark’s sage words, Oliver shared: “I remember [Mark] saying when he was filming, that it’s such a gorgeous place to work it’s really, really brilliant.”
“So when this came along, I was excited. And it is great. He said to me, ‘I told you so and I said, ‘You did’,” he concluded.
Oliver and Samantha’s love story began on the set of ‘The Girl on the Train’ back in 2019, and romance quickly blossomed. But things took a serious turn in August 2022 when Sam received a breast cancer diagnosis.
Oliver opened up about how it impacted their lives: “It sort of changes your outlook and makes you possibly appreciate what you’ve got a bit more.
“And maybe live your life a bit more as well,’ he added. By December 2022, Samantha shared the incredible news that she was free from the illness.
Samantha managed to juggle her role in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with her cancer treatment. Reflecting on the experience, she said: “It’s a bit like learning to think and speak in a different language and it’s quite exhausting. Because you’re not quite the same person that you were so everything is just slightly shaded in a different colour.”
Before joining Emmerdale, Oliver had a stint on another popular soap, Coronation Street, where he played Andy Carvera character who found himself on the wrong end of Pat Phelan’s wrath… twice!
