John Bowe tells Soaplife all about his new role in Emmerdale as wealthy Lawrence White, the new owner Home Farm - and a man who doesn’t like his daughter’s fiancée, Robert Sugden...
Where does Lawrence get his money from?
“He has an agricultural machinery empire that’s made him a multi-millionaire. It’s lovely coming in as a wealthy character because you get nice clothes.”
So, he made good after being jailed years ago for his relationship with Edna’s husband?
“He basically turned his life around and decided to make the best of things after that. As a homosexual when that was illegal, he went through a bad time in prison - in those days the aversion therapy was horrendous. After it, Lawrence wanted to live as regular and as successful a life as he could, which is why he married and had kids, turning his back on his troubled past. He is very driven.”
Do Lawrence’s family know about his past?
“He has never kept it a secret, but he did love their mother, his wife, who died a few years ago.”
How does Lawrence get on with his daughter Chrissie (Louise Marwood)?
“He loves her. He is devoted to his daughters - there is another daughter."
He’s not keen on Robert (Ryan Hawley) at all, though, is he?
“He settles the family in Emmerdale to try and split up Chrissie and Robert. He doesn’t want his daughter ending up with this guy.”
So he’s going to try to split them up?
“Yes. He uses many different tacks to disrupt the relationship and one of them will be Andy [Kelvin Fletcher] and Katie [Sammy Winward]. It might look awful, but he’s only doing it because he loves his daughter. This is a man who does the wrong thing for the right reason.”
He’s already stopped their wedding once, hasn’t he?
“They had to postpone their wedding because Laurence may have faked a heart attack - that’s what other people are saying.”
Why does Lawrence dislike Robert so much?
“Initially he really did like Robert. When Lawrence hired him he was the golden boy. We do know Lawrence has had relationships with men, so maybe there are several layers to their relationship. There’s also a bit of bad taste there because Robert has very quickly climbed through the hierarchy of Lawrence’s company. He wonders if he may be a bit of a gold digger.”
Emmerdale, ITV. Click here for times and dates.
