| Ross Barton | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Michael Parr | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2013–2018, 2024–present | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 6600 9 July 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ross Barton is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Michael Parr. He made his first appearance in episode 6600 of the soap, broadcast on 9 July 2013. Ross first appears as the carjacker of Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), before being revealed to be the nephew of Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb). The character is initially characterised as a bad boy and a "nasty piece of work". The softer side of Ross' personality is explored when he enters a secret relationship with police officer Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth), who has terminal cancer. When Donna dies, Ross bonds with her daughter April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan).
Producers created a whodunit storyline in 2015 when Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) becomes pregnant and does not reveal the father. After giving birth to a son, Moses Dingle, Charity reveals that Ross is his father. Ross also embarks on an affair with Charity's daughter Debbie (Charley Webb), who at the time was engaged to Ross' older brother - Pete (Anthony Quinlan). The affair climaxes in the show's August stunt at Debbie and Pete's wedding.
Ross and Pete fight after the reveal, where Pete seemingly kills Ross and leaves his body in the woods. Parr confirmed that he had left the soap and a petition to reintroduce the character gained over 5,000 supporters. It was later revealed that the character is alive, with Parr stating that he liked the response to Ross' "death". The character later became involved in several of the show's major events, most significantly where Ross is revealed to have shot his enemy Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) in the Who Shot Robert Sugden? storyline; with Ross having formed a deal with Robert's adopted half-brother Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) that he would help kill his brother in exchange for Andy killing Pete, though Andy later changed his mind. In 2018, Ross became the subject of an acid attack in one of the show's most issued storylines and the character's most defying event. Parr researched extensively for the storyline. Parr's decision to leave the show was announced on 23 May 2018 and Ross departed on 2 November 2018, leaving the village to start anew with Robert's former sister-in-law Rebecca White (Emily Head) and their son Sebastian. For his portrayal of Ross Barton and through the character's story arc, Parr has received several award nominations - while critics have praised the character. On 17 September 2024 it was announced that Ross will return to the show later that year.[1] His return aired on 28 October 2024.