Poor Edna Birch has been having a rough time of it ever since she discovered her treasured pet dog Tootsie had cancer and would need expensive treatment to save her life…

And as she didn’t have any pet insurance, and had lost her job at Tate Haulage, Edna (Shirley Stelfox) had to scrimp and save – and even starved herself – to pay the vet bills.

That all culminated in her collapse, and she ended up staying temporarily with Jimmy and Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) while the roof on her cottage was repaired.

However, next week, she’s set to move back into her house, and though she is of course happy to be home, there’s a pile of bills waiting for her… Read more & comment »

Coming up next week on Emmerdale, pensioner Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones) has had enough of being treated like a child by his son Ashley (John Middleton) and his ex-wife, Laurel…

So Sandy’s going to announce that he’s applying for a place in a sheltered housing complex, however, the only way he could get a place is if his present living circumstances put him in harm’s way, so Ashley is set to risk getting himself into trouble to help his dad out.

The drama begins on Tuesday 5th March when Sandy happily takes delivery of his new scooter, and promptly goes AWOL for the day, leaving Ashley and Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) frantic as to where he could be… Read more & comment »

Emmerdale viewers will know that the show has tackled head-on the controversial and often taboo issue of elder abuse…

That storyline – which of course features Vicar Ashley Thomas’s cruelty to his father Sandy, who’s played by the wonderful Freddie Jones – is set to come to a shocking climax next week when Ashley is arrested on suspicion of assault.

But surprisingly, it’s not Sandy or Ashley’s wife Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) who involve the police, nor is it Rachel Breckle (Gemma Oaten) who’s suspected Ashley of abuse for weeks…

It’s actually Ashley’s biggest fan, pew groupie Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) who makes the call to the police, so I guess that means she no longer a fan at all!

Speaking to Soaplife, John Middleton, who of course plays the vicious cleric, began by saying that Ashley has shocked himself with “what he’s capable of”. Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will know, the storyline between Vicar Ashley Thomas and his elderly father Sandy is gathering a sinister pace as tensions between the pair get worse…

And John Middleton, who of course plays Ashley, has told TV Times magazine that when he first read the scripts, and heard what the show’s writers had in store, he couldn’t see his mild mannered character in the role of abuser.

However, he added that when he gave some thought to the issue, and having researched the controversial subject of elder abuse, he began to feel differently.

He said, “When I found out, my first thought was, ‘This isn’t Ashley’. But at the same time, I thought, ‘OK, let’s say that it is’, and I saw it as a huge challenge.

“A departure that takes me into a whole new area for the character…” Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will know, Vicar Ashley Thomas is getting dangerously close to becoming abusive with his elderly and often cantankerous dad Sandy (Freddie Jones).

But as of right now, the only person who can see what’s going on in the Thomas household is Rachel Breckle (Gemma Oaten) but with the support of their friends in the village, nobody believes her claims that either Ashley or Laurel might be being neglectful – or worse – of Sandy.

And John Middleton – who’s also played the role of John Hargreaves in Coronation Street, the man who knocked down and killed Lisa Duckworth Tommy Duckworth’s mother – who of course plays the troubled cleric Ashley has told the show’s official website that things are set to get a lot worse for his character and Sandy.

He said, “Ashley’s always had a very difficult relationship with his dad, but at the same time, they have a great deal of love and respect for one another… Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will know, Vicar Ashley Thomas is growing increasingly impatient with his elderly dad Sandy (Freddie Jones) and at times, Ashley’s behaviour towards Sandy has bordered on cruelty…

But so far, only Rachel Breckle (Gemma Oaten) has raised the alarm about how Ashley treats his dad, and unknowingly, she made Sandy’s situation far worse by telling Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) about her concerns.

He of course then voiced them to Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) who in turns told Ashley that Rachel had been spreading nasty rumours about how Sandy was being treated… Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will know, Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones) is proving to be something of a handful to care for, and his son Ashley (John Middleton) is often overwhelmed by the enormity of caring for his aged dad…

But in tonight’s episode, Ashley and his wife Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) finally realize they need help coping with Sandy when, in a moment of carelessness, the granddad leaves small pieces of a model boat he’s making lying around, and his grandson Arthur gets hold of a piece and chokes on it.

In the episode, which airs at 7pm tonight on ITV1 – and which also sees the Barton family bidding a final farewell to John as they scatter his ashes – Laurel will race little Arthur to A&E, where luckily, it turns out he’s fine… Read more & comment »