‘Emmerdale’s John Middleton is "sad" to be leaving his on-screen wife Charlotte Bellamy as he exits the soap.
The 63-year-old actor – who has played Ashley Thomas in the long-running show since 1996 – will have his last scenes aired on Friday’s (07.04.17) episode when his dementia suffering comes to an end in an emotional farewell, but he’s adamant he and Charlotte [Laurel Potts] will stay friends as they both live in the same town and can easily grab a coffee for a catch up.
Appearing on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ on Friday (07.04.17), the pair spoke of the upcoming scenes and John’s exit.
Charlotte said: "I’m bereft!"
John added: "For me leaving the show after 20 years and this working relationship – although Charlotte and I will stay friends – we live in the same town and there’s lots of places to have coffee and we both have dogs we walk, but I really love working with Charlotte and [I’m sad] I won’t be doing that anymore."
John doesn’t have another acting job as of yet, but is hoping to play "something evil" for his next role.
He added: "As I often say, I haven’t got plans, I’m an actor … I’ve got hopes! But if I could choose… I’d love to play something evil!"
And John added that, although he won’t be tuning in to watch his final scenes, he says they were "extraordinary" to film.
He said: "It was an extraordinary thing to film, the atmosphere on set was amazing… you could have heard a pin drop. The team really wanted to finish the story well."
‘Emmerdale’ is on ITV this evening (07.04.17) at 7pm.
John Middleton will miss working with Charlotte Bellamy
