Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw has broken his silence following Sebastian Dowling’s shock exit.
On New Year’s Eve, Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling), Angelica (Rebecca Bakes) and Heath planned to go to Hotten for a party but couldn’t find a lift. Deciding to find her own way there, a drunk Cathy stole the keys to Wendy’s (Susan Cookson) car.
But the joyride ended in disaster when Cathy crashed the vehicle into a wall. When Wendy and Bob eventually found the trio, a bloodied Cathy and Angelica were outside the car while Heath was still inside.
READ MORE: Emmerdale fans demand Cathy to face jail following fatal death in New Year’s car crash
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After Wendy attempted CPR, she realised the teenager was dead. Tony, who has portrayed Bob since 2000, admitted he was emotional at saying goodbye to his on-screen son. The actor said: “We all get on dead well and it’s going to be quite an emotional time over the next couple of weeks.”
Sharing his reaction to the tragic twist, Tony added: “It was quite a shock that that’s what they were doing. But obviously it’s a really important storyline and I hope it’s one that they do justice to.”
Sebastian and real-life twin Gabrielle have played Heath and Cathy for 17 years, making their first appearance on the soap when they were just four weeks old in 2006. Touching upon their relationship on the soap, Tony continued: “It’s quite extraordinary that they’re brother and sister.
“It does often happen with young people that it’s their mates or girlfriend or boyfriend, it’s somebody they know. Not only are they dealing with the fact that they’ve killed somebody, or somebody’s died in an accident, but it’s somebody that they actually love.
“Then the whole network of friends and family around are angry and they’re grieving and I’m sure that’s what’s going to unfold.” The soap star admitted things took an emotional turn during filming in the weeks following Heath’s death.
“When you’re doing emotional stuff you can either go inside-out where you dredge up feelings that you’ve had yourself and amplify those,” he explained. Also you can go outside-in where you get upset, it affects your body and the way you feel, the back of your mouth, your eyes.”
Tony confessed he loves the process of learning comedy, however this won’t be a focus for his character for the foreseeable. “The difference when you do a story like this is that you’re miserable all day instead of having a laugh all day,” he said. “The impact of that over a few weeks is more tiring, I think, for actors to do.”
Tony confirmed Bob and Cathy’s relationship will be tested due to her involvement in the crash. The 59-year-old said: “She’s been driving the car and her brother’s dead. The relationship that they’ve had, he’s tried to understand, but when you’re grieving you’re angry. Certainly it’s going to really, really test an already fractured relationship.”
He added: “I think he’s certainly going to blame himself. With regard to the lift, there’s actually nothing I’ve seen so far about that, but certainly in the way he’s parented he’s going to question his relationship with his children. Has he got on better with Heath than he has with Cathy over the last few years? Is it payback time now for that?
“Because Heath, because he hasn’t got PMDD I suppose, for one, has been an easier ride as a parent, because he’s had less trouble. He’s just been a bit of a dream, really, just got on with things. His eyes have been towards Cathy a lot because of the trouble she’s had because of her condition.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
