Oliver Farnworth has been causing a stir in Emmerdale village as John Sugden but away from the ITV soap he lives with his EastEnders legend girlfriend Samantha Womack
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Emmerdale‘s Oliver Farnworth is in a prime position to receive top-notch soap opera guidance, thanks to his relationship with EastEnders icon Samantha Womack. Samantha is renowned for her portrayal of Ronnie Mitchell for over a decade and has been with Oliver for three years.
Actor Oliver is currently stirring up drama on the ITV soap as the enigmatic John Sugden, Victoria Sugden’s long-lost half-brother, whom he describes as a ‘lone wolf’. Away from the cameras, Oliver enjoys life Samantha and has formed a close bond with her adult children, Lily and Benjamin, as well as their father, Mark Womack, who himself had a stint on Emmerdale as corrupt cop DI Mark Malone in 2020.
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“Mark is a good friend,” Oliver shared with the Mirror, recalling how he even encouraged him when he landed the role: “When I got offered [the part], Mark told me it was a great job. He was full of praise for the place.”
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Oliver isn’t new to the soap world, having previously played Andy Carver in Coronation Street, a waiter at Nick’s Bistro who met a grisly end. “I got to die twice at the hands of Pat Phelan which is a badge of honour,” he boasted, reports the Mirror.
Corrie fans may recall the intense speculation back in early 2022, when many were convinced that Pat Phelan, portrayed by Connor McIntyre, had murdered Andy Carver. However, it turned out that the villainous builder was actually keeping him captive in a cellar.
Reflecting on the storyline, Oliver Farnworth, who played Andy, shared with ITV’s This Morning: “A lot of people thought I was rolled up in the carpet but that was him disposing of the carpet because it had my blood and DNA and things on it,” adding, “But you never saw a body and that is something that has baffled quite a lot of people.”
Eventually, Pat did kill Andy, forcing him to shoot Vinny Ashford before turning the gun on him. Before his gripping Coronation Street plot, Oliver Farnworth graced another soap, debuting in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks as Will Hackett straight after drama school. He also featured in ITV’s Mr Selfridge and, more recently, in 2019, he took to the stage in the critically acclaimed production of The Girl on the Train, where he met his partner Samantha.
Samantha bravely faced a breast cancer diagnosis in 2022, and discussing her journey on Loose Women, Oliver said: “She’s been so kind of strong and determined through it. We were very lucky because they detected quite a high grade of cancer and were able to deal with that quite quickly but she then went through the chemo and the radiotherapy.”
The veteran soap actress opens up about the stark reality of her condition, having been diagnosed unexpectedly during a seemingly routine appointment. Despite the challenges, she continued to perform in the popular West End show ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ whilst undergoing treatment.
On the impact of the disease, she explained: “It’s a bit like learning to think and speak in a different language and it’s quite exhausting,” adding that, “Because you’re not quite the same person that you were so everything is just slightly shaded in a different colour.”
Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm
