EXCLUSIVE: Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth has opened up about his character John Sugden’s dramatic storyline

Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth has revealed that he’s a secret Robron fan as he said “I’m really invested”.

The 43-year-old actor first arrived in the Dales as John Sugden back in August last year, and has since wreaked havoc across the village.

The drama has ramped up in recent weeks after John kidnapped Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) and held him hostage in an underground bunker, which was located on the grounds of his childhood home.

John’s husband Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) finally discovered the truth about the villain this week, with Robert (Ryan Hawley) soon arriving at the cottage to save his ex from his evil brother.

However, in a shocking twist of events, John grabbed Aaron and threw both of them off the edge of a cliff, leaving Robert speechless.

John Sugden and Aaron Dingle fell off a cliff this week(Image: ITV)

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Speaking on the red carpet at the National Television Awards on Wednesday (September 10), actor Oliver revealed that he’s secretly rooting for Aaron and Robert to get back together.

“From a selfish point of view, I want Aaron to stay with John. But when I watched the eps the other night, I was a Robron fan because I was like, ‘Come on, Aaron, you can do this!'” he said.

“I found myself really invested and I think that’s just testament to what Matt Hilton, the director, created. What the show as a whole can bring to people. I’m just a fan, full stop.”

The star went on to share that he’s found it “enjoyable” to play an iconic soap villain, adding: “We get the scripts and we understand our jobs as actors, and we also work in a very, very safe environment.

Mackenzie Boyd is trapped in a bunker(Image: ITV)

“For instance, me and Danny, me and Lawrence, Aaron and Mackenzie, whenever we’re doing anything that’s violent, it never is that way. We always have professionals around, we’re able to talk about the storylines. It’s just our jobs to bring this story to life.

“Having the opportunity to do that has been fantastic. I’ve got a great working relationship with those guys, we have a laugh on set. Danny and I can be bawling our eyes out one minute, fighting each other the next as our characters, and then just hugging and having a laugh at lunchtime.

“We leave everything on the pitch, we never take our work home with us. It’s a really safe and supportive environment to work in. So, just being able to portray this character from an actor’s point of view is great.”

Oliver also reflected on filming the “amazing” bunker scenes with Lawrence Boyd, and let fans in on a behind-the-scenes secret.

Oliver Farnworth attended the National Television Awards on Wednesday(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

“The set that they built was really, really claustrophobic. It was really small, it was a purpose-built set so it never existed before. We were the first ones to ever use this set,” he said.

“When you saw the woods going down the stairs, that was literally stairs into the earth and then when you came down the stairs, that was in the studio. So, there’s two different sets. Just opening a door and shutting it behind you, being six foot, is crazy.”

During Thursday’s (September 11) hour-long episode, which is available to stream on ITVX, Robert feared for Aaron’s life as he was questioned at the police station.

Meanwhile at the hospital, John regained his strength and went to visit Aaron, who was in an induced coma. He later lied to the police, saying that Robert had attacked him. Will Robert find a way out of this?