10 of Emmerdale's best Ross Barton storylines as he prepares to leave for good

20 min read

31 Oct

31Oct

It's been a wild old ride.

It's the end of an era in Emmerdale this week as we prepare to say goodbye to the one and only Ross Barton. Actor Michael Parr is bowing out of the soap after playing the dodgy mechanic for the last five years. And what a hectic half decade it's been for Ross!

Having been at the heart of countless hard-hitting storylines – and bed-hopped his way around the village – Ross is finally putting his troubles behind him as he seeks a fresh start with girlfriend Rebecca. (Whether she'll end up going with him is another matter.) Let's hope his new life will be a lot more relaxed, because his time in the Dales has been anything but.

Thanks for the memories, Ross. Here are your ten best bits...

1. His dramatic entrance

Ross took the meaning of keeping it the family to whole new level when he began bedding Debbie Dingle. Not only had he already sampled the delights of her mum, but Debs was also engaged to Ross's big brother Pete at the time. That didn't seem to bother Ross too much though, and after weeks of flirting up a storm, the naughty duo embarked on a hot and heavy affair.

2. His doomed relationship with Donna

After establishing Ross was a bit of a wrong'un, it didn't take long to realise he was also something of a womaniser. His early conquests included bedding Charity, but it wasn't until he secretly started dating copper Donna Windsor that we saw Ross was capable of having a relationship that went beyond rumpy-pumpy.

Unfortunately, the lovers ended getting themselves mixed up in a deadly game of cat and mouse with dodgy club boss Gary North. Ross agreed to carry out a job for Gary in order to protect his family, but it all went terribly wrong.

During a tense showdown on the roof of a multi-storey car park, Donna (who was terminally ill with lung cancer) took Gary over the edge with her, killing them both instantly.

3. His unlikely friendship with April

For anyone who'd written Ross off as a one-dimensional villain, his bond with Donna's 4-year old daughter April was enough to prove them wrong. The unlikely pair's magical friendship was formed when Ross was dating Donna, and much to everyone's delight, continued in the months following her tragic demise.

One of our all time favourite memories of Ross will always be when he dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow to put a smile on his little pal's face as she faced a painful first Christmas without her mummy. See, there was a softie lurking inside.

4. Who's the daddy of baby Moses?

Just as well Ross was a natural with gorgeous April, as it stood in him good stead for the next child who was about to enter his life. In 2015, the writers created a "Who's the daddy?" plot when Charity gave birth to a son called Moses while in prison. Ross was one of the potential baby daddies, along with Cain, and Charity's former husbands Jai and Declan.

The mystery was finally solved months down the line when Moses needed a life-saving operation and Charity summoned Ross to the hospital to introduce him to his boy. The bombshell rocked Ross's world as he struggled to believe one bunk-up in the back of the chop shop had created a life. The situation was made doubly awkward by the fact Ross was secretly sleeping with Charity's daughter Debbie at the time…

5. Sleeping with his brother's missus

Debbie seriously considered ditching the dull brother for the dangerous one, but their plans to do a runner were thwarted when Cain revealed Ross was Moses's father. Ross found himself dumped, while Debbie ploughed on with her plans to marry Pete, completely unaware of the death and destruction their wedding day would bring.

6. His fake death

As predicted, some serious shiz went down at Debbie and Pete's wedding. Her affair was revealed over the airwaves during the bride and groom's first dance, then a helicopter crashed into the village hall well and truly brought an end to the reception. When Pete finally caught up with his brother a brawl broke out, with Ross ending up unconscious.

Pete thought he'd killed his betrayer and buried his body in the woods, and we all believed Ross had breathed his last. Even Michael Parr thanked fans on Twitter for their support, saying "it's goodbye from me".

A petition was launched to bring the character back, but just three weeks later it was revealed the whole thing had been a sneaky ruse, when Ross opened his eyes in a hospital bed.

7. Getting even with Pete

No-one does revenge quite like Ross. After initially pretending he was totes fine with the fact that his brother had left him to rot under a pile of leaves, Ross let his real feelings be known. After kidnapping his brother, Ross beat Pete unconscious. His victim awoke to find himself hanging head first over a viaduct by a winch.

Ruthless Ross enjoyed every second of his power trip, gently lowering the winch as his scared sibling pleaded for his life. He even went as far as demanding Pete sent a suicide text to their dad James. In the end, Ross couldn't go through with killing his own flesh and blood. What did we say about him being a softie?

8. Shooting Robert Sugden

Pretty much every single Emmerdale storyline in 2015 centred around a certain RB, and the 'Who Shot Robert Sugden?' plot was no exception. Ruthless Rob was public enemy number one in the village at the time he took a bullet, so there was no shortage of suspects for carrying out the crime. The writers came up with a genius way of revealing whodunit, which broke with their usual style of storytelling – a rewind episode.

During the gripping time warp, which aired on the soap's 43rd anniversary, the audience witnessed Ross enter into a murderous pact with Andy Sugden, as the boys agreed to kill each other's brothers. Ross kept true to his word, by pulling the trigger on Robert (although he lived to tell the tale), but Andy wussed out on his promise to do away with Pete.

9. Who pushed Emma?

Pete wasn't the only member of the Barton clan who Ross seriously considered doing away with. Having always experienced a turbulent relationship with mum Emma following her abandonment when he was a kid, Ross was the prime suspect in the frame for her murder. As well as a general disdain of his mother, there was also the added motive that Em had murdered his father and been responsible for the death of Ross's little brother Finn. Plus, Emma had tried to drown Ross when he was a child.

But despite dragging Emma to the viaduct she fell to her death from, and telling her to jump, Ross wasn't actually the person who pushed her. After the real murderer Moira had scarpered, Ross revealed to Pete that he had returned to the scene to save Emma, only to discover her sprawled dead below the bridge.

10. The horrific acid attack

The writers took Ross on his darkest journey to date in February of this year when he fell victim to a savage acid attack. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time for the mechanic when he agreed to help Debbie get even with her ex Joe Tate. Debs had arranged for drug dealer Simon McManus to beat up Joe, but in a case of mistaken identity, it was Ross who was targeted with a corrosive substance when Simon decided to use acid.

After suffering life-changing injuries, Ross began to rapidly spiral, becoming crippled by an addiction to prescription painkillers to block out the agony over his disfigurement.

Emmerdale airs Ross's final scenes on Friday (November 2) at 7pm on ITV.

Ross Barton says goodbye in Emmerdale

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