Emmerdale’s John Barton star now – car crash horror, on-set injury and co-star wife

Emmerdale fans were left stunned in February 2012 when farming stalwart John Barton was killed off after a horrific car crash – which even left actor James Thornton himself injured.

John was on his way to a hotel when he lost control of his Land Rover on black ice and fell down a cliff, and later died in hospital with his wife Moira and his children around him.

Among his storylines on the soap was helping to battle daughter Holly’s drug addiction and being accused of a brutal assault on Cain Dingle.

John even made a kind of soap ‘return’ in 2013, when his brother James was revealed to be Adam’s father rather than John – years after his death – leaving Moira in turmoil.

But what has actor James Thornton been up to since leaving the ITV soap? From a horrific car accident to leaping into a river to save his wife’s pooch, his life has been no less dramatic than his on-screen persona.

To commemorate a whole decade since John met his untimely demise on Emmerdale, Daily Star takes a look into James’ life now.

Co-star wife

46-year-old James isn’t the only actor in his family – as his wife has had an iconic role in one of Britain’s most famous sitcoms.

The Emmerdale star exchanged vows with Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page back in 2003, after meeting on the set of a David Copperfield TV series in 1999.

Joanna is best known for playing Stacey Shipman on the BBC comedy series – but she has also made her name in various Hollywood films including Dolittle alongside Robert Downey Jr. and hit Christmas flick Love Actually.

The pair share four children, having welcomed their youngest daughter Boe Willow Russell last year.

Joanna, 44, initially announced the news of her birth on Instagram, writing: “Welcome to our family Boe Willow Russell. We love you with all our hearts”.

James added: “She is here! Our wonderful girl Boe Willow Russell.”

The pair also share Eva, eight, Kit, six and Noah, five.

Near divorce

Joanna has been candid about her marital struggles with James during the tough lockdown period – as all that time at home with the kids killed any chances of getting intimate with each other.

Speaking to The Sun, Joanna confessed the pair had “spent the whole of the first lockdown arguing and threatening to divorce each other”.

She added: “Then we went through a month of literally not saying a single word to each other.”

Joanna explained the couple were “numb” after the first lockdown and arguing “so much” – but the children returning to school helped, as they were able to sneak in some much-needed solo time.

She said: “‘Let’s get some sex in before we have to pick the kids up from school’ – that’s how desperate we got.”

And it looks like the duo are in a stronger place now after welcoming their fourth baby and getting some of that special time together.

Horror car crash

In 2010, when he was still starring in Emmerdale, James was rushed to hospital after being hit by a car in central London.

The star said he was “lucky to be alive” after the incident, which took place in front of his wife and left him with a fractured knee and other leg injuries – as well as suffering from shock.

A source told Daily Star at the time: “He was having a few days off in London with Jo and they’d been out for dinner when he was hit by the car. Joanna was in a right state and James was in absolute agony.

“He knows he was lucky. We have no idea when he’s going to be back.”

As a result, several of James’ scenes had to be rewritten while he recovered from the horrific incident.

He was also forced to pull out of various marathons that year after his leg was left in plaster for six weeks – but thankfully was able to take his running hobby back up shortly afterwards.

Saving pooch from river

As if James’ life wasn’t dramatic enough, a year later in 2011, he leapt into the River Aire in Leeds in order to save the family dog from drowning.

The star was swept along with the current in his attempt to save the Jack Russell, named Daisy, who had jumped into the water – and the rescue attempt again left him hospitalised.

James suffered an injury to his eye and severe mouth ulcers after swallowing dirty water in the river.

Speaking to The Mirror, James said at the time: “I wasn’t scared when I jumped in, but once I hit the water and realised I couldn’t swim back against the current I was worried about what I’d done.

“Once I caught up with Daisy, I just had to let us be carried along and when we got some banking I managed to get tot he side and scramble out.

“My eye was quite sore and I was sick for a few weeks afterwards. At one point I had 20 mouth ulcers and could hardly speak.”

Daisy was obviously a much-loved member of the family – and even helped James propose to Joanna when he tied a pouch containing the engagement ring around the pooch’s neck.

The couple now share a Springer Spaniel, Lola.

On-set injury

And the rather incident-prone James couldn’t avoid injuring himself while filming Emmerdale, either – as his death scene left him with real-life effects.

While filming the scenes of the car crash which ended John’s life, James said: “I love stunt driving so I was in my element. They had a stunt driver on standby but I wanted to do it myself to make it more realistic.

“I ended up with bruises all over my shoulders from being thrown against the sides of the car.”

Speaking to The Sun, he added: “The crash is quite brutal but it was fun to film. It’s a good job we stopped when we did because I think I was getting into it a bit too much. I nearly hit the wall and it was getting a bit dangerous.”

Secret Emmerdale role

You’d be forgiven for not realising John Barton wasn’t the only Emmerdale character played by James – as he actually appeared in the soap before under his real name, James Russell.

Back in January 1995, James appeared in the soap as a young man working at the Hotten Cattle Market – an eerie sign he’d soon take up the farming profession as a regular character.

Bradford-born James didn’t end his acting career with his Emmerdale role, either, as he went on to appear as regular character Marcus in the TV series Stella in 2014.

He has also made his name as PC Jake Loughton in Holby Blue, as well as appearing in everything from Holby City to The Bill.

Tragic loss

James suffered a huge loss in his life in 2005, when his brother Jonathan Russell died aged just 33 from cancer of the spine.

Jonathan had been a physiotherapist and helped out at the Bury Cancer Support Centre during his lifetime – something James was keen to keep up after his death.

Explaining his decision to fundraise for the centre in 2010, he explained: “The centre gave massive support to my brother. It wasn’t about him finding a cure, it was about giving him support to cope with everything.

“It is an absolutely incredible place.”

Emmerdale airs nightly on ITV at 7pm

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk