'Emmerdale' actor faces blindness

Emmerdale's Patrick Mower may lose his sight if he does not undergo surgery within the next two years.

However, Mower, who plays Rodney Blackstock in the soap, has apparently not yet booked the surgery as he is currently working on an important storyline and does not want to disrupt his work schedule. He also admits that he is nervous about the procedure.

Mower, 62, first became worried that his sight was failing around six months ago whilst playing tennis. An initial diagnosis said that he was suffering from dust behind the eye, but when new glasses did not cure the problem it was found that he had pre-retinal glial membrane, meaning that the retina crinkles up.

He told the News of the World: "When they told me I'm going blind I was distraught.

"Our little son Maxim is only seven and the most beautiful boy in the world. I want to see him grow up - the thought I may not terrifies me."

Emmerdale star Patrick Mower has revealed that he is keen for his character Rodney Blackstock to be more prominent on screen this year.

The actor admitted that he would like to see new romance on the horizon for Rodney, who is currently involved in a storyline with scheming Carl King (Tom Lister) after being employed by him at the Emmerdale Haulage firm.

Mower told Inside Soap: "Rodney has been on the back-burner for some time now. I think we should see more of him this year. It'd be nice if he met a wealthy lady - Rodney is happy when he's a millionaire!"

Asked whether he would like Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) and Jimmy (Nick Miles) to make Rodney a grandparent again, he replied: "I don't really want that to happen. But I've heard that the actor Charles Dance is about to become a dad again at the age of 65, so how about Rodney being an older father? He just needs to find a rich young lady to have the baby with!"

Rodney receives a shock next week when he discovers that Carl has set him up to take the blame for a serious driving offence.

However, Mower added: "Rodney's a streetwise chap. If push came to shove, he'd drop Carl in it - even though he knows it could mean spending time in prison himself. Rodney is dangerous - Carl should watch out."

Emmerdale continues tonight at 7pm on ITV1.