Soaps

Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw knew unpopular Bob and Laurel romance was a flop

Actor was shocked by "terrible" criticism

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Soap actor Tony Audenshaw has admitted he knew his Emmerdale character’s relationship was given the thumbs down by fans.

Bob Hope’s romance with Laurel Thomas, the widow of his dead mate Ashley, ended abruptly a few weeks ago when she decided she didn’t love him.

Humiliating him in front of the pub’s regulars, Laurel dumped Bob as he bizarrely filled in for a missing stripper at the Woolpack.

And it seems that Bob actor Tony and actress Charlotte Bellamy – who plays Laurel – were fully aware how unpopular their soap partnership was with viewers.

Funnily enough, this proved the final straw for Laurel (Credit: ITV)

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Asked how the acting pair had felt about the relationship seemingly being cut short, Tony said they both moved straight on to their next plots.

“We’re both very pragmatic about things, so we just do what we’ve got,” he told Digital Spy.

“We’ve really enjoyed working together. I’ve known Charlotte a long time and she’s an absolute gem to work with.”

Tony also hinted he could understand why audiences found it hard to believe in the couple making a go of it together after initially having an affair.

Their relationship ended swiftly in November (Credit: ITV)

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He continued: “I’m aware the story wasn’t well received by a lot of people.

“I don’t normally look at the reaction, but I went on to see how it was going down and I was like: ‘Oh my God!’ It was terrible.

“But all you can do from our point of view is play it as honestly as you can.”

The 53-year-old, who has appeared as hapless Bob in the ITV soap for 18 years, seemed to suggest Bob’s excessive dishonesty didn’t make him much of a romantic hero.

Bob was such a liar (Credit: ITV)

Tony added: “There were times during the affair when we were thinking: ‘The way Bob is behaving is terrible, just lying and lying and lying’. But that’s what you’ve got to do.”

“Playing a character in a soap isn’t about making your character popular, it’s doing what the stories are.”

– Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer

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