Emmerdale actors Kev Townsend and Emma Barton turn out to have an unforeseen link outside the show.
It’s already been a hectic year in the Dales, and the ITV soap shows no signs of easing up.
Emmerdale fans will remember that Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) arrived on-screen in May, introduced as the secret half-brother of Ross Barton (Michael Parr).
Before Lewis showed up, Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) discovered a letter addressed to “The Family of Emma Barton.” Viewers will recall that Moira was responsible for Emma’s (Gillian Kearney) death in 2017, after Emma abducted her baby son, Isaac.
Moira eventually shared the letter with Ross, prompting him to meet Lewis. Since then, the two have grown close and recently moved into Dale View with Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson).
Lewis has always insisted he has no idea who his father is — but that could be about to change following a major revelation earlier this month.
In a chat with Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill) — the man Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) married in prison — revealed: “I’ve got a son. I just don’t want people judging me for never having anything to do with him. I never asked for a kid. It was a wild one-night stand with a barmaid in Leeds and then suddenly, boom — there’s a baby.”
Kev went on: “The mum put him up for adoption as soon as he was born. Emma something… total troublemaker. I think she ended up being murdered a few years back.”
Liam and Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) quickly put the pieces together and realised that Kev is connected to Lewis — but agreed to keep the truth about his biological father from him for now.
In Monday’s (November 25) episode, Nicola stepped in quickly when she spotted Kev talking to Lewis in the café. But her attempt to intervene fell apart when Kev openly admitted he already knew Lewis was his son.
Nicola urged Kev to keep his distance, but he was determined to build a relationship with Lewis. Unfazed by the ex-con’s attitude, Nicola firmly insisted he back off, telling him: “If you really care about what’s best for him, you’d leave him be.”
Meanwhile, some Emmerdale viewers have spotted an unexpected real-life connection between Kev and Emma: actors Chris Coghill and Gillian Kearney once played husband and wife in Shameless.
Chris took on the role of Craig Garland when he first appeared in season two of the hit UK comedy-drama, while Gillian played his on-screen wife, Sue.
Craig and Sue were married for eight years, although their relationship had fallen apart long before that. They eventually went their separate ways, with Sue later marrying Marty Fisher (Jack Deam), while Craig went on to have a child with Fiona Gallagher (Anne-Marie Duff).
Emmerdale viewers were stunned when they realised Chris and Gillian had worked together long before their characters crossed paths in the Dales, and many flocked to social media to share their surprise.
One fan posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Omg how am I only just realising that Kev and Emma already appeared together in Shameless! This is wild.” Another added: “OH MY GOD, I’m literally screaming.”
A third commented: “What a twist — they already knew each other! This is crazy.” Someone else joked: “Wow, what are the odds? Maybe the writers will lean into it and we’ll see even more ‘Kev and Emma’ kids turning up.”
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