Emmerdale's Bill Ward on Barton drugs row: 'James blames himself'
Emmerdale's James Barton gets a nasty surprise next week as he discovers that his son Pete is dealing drugs.
Pete (Anthony Quinlan) has resorted to the drastic measure to help solve his family's financial crisis, but James is shocked that he would stoop so low.
Here, Bill Ward - who plays James - reveals his thoughts on the Barton crisis and his character's secret feelings for Moira.
Does James realise that Pete is capable of crime too?
"Pete is a good boy, so James is absolutely astonished. Pete has always been James's blue-eyed boy and the sensible one of the family. Whenever James has been away chasing Ross around the country and desperately trying to find him, Pete has always been in charge of the farm and looking after things.
"James is shocked, astonished and hurt by Pete's drug dealing, because he sees it as a betrayal of him. He also feels like he's been a rubbish parent."
So does James blame himself?
"He blames it entirely on himself. Pete says to him, 'The only reason I've been dealing drugs is to make some money for us, because you weren't making any money'. So on lots of levels, James feels that he's let his son down."
But when James first sees the pills, he assumes that they belong to Ross…
"Yes, James walks in to find Pete and Ross arguing. Ross has a bag of pills in his hands and he's trying to get Pete to take one, so as far as James is concerned, it looks very clearly like Ross is to blame. It looks like these are Ross's pills and that he's the one who has been dealing.
"To be fair, it would be totally in character! James isn't surprised by that at all - it ties in with all of the other evidence of Ross being a bad lad over the past 10 years."
http://i1.cdnds.net/14/03/618x424/so...ale-6780-1.jpg
James leads Ross out
© ITV
James leads Ross out
What was it like to film the scene where James punches Ross?
"Great fun - it always is, isn't it? A bit of violence in these shows is always quite fun! (Laughs.) We had a fight director there who was brilliant. What was interesting about it was that Ross really has a go at James verbally. Ross says that everything that's going wrong in the family is James's fault. That pricks James's conscience, but it's also a direct attack on his worthiness as a dad and a farmer. That's why James hits him. It's not premeditated."
Has James hit Ross before?
"No, I really don't think that Ross has hit James before, and that's why it comes as such a surprise. It's a shock to everybody. James has been a pretty decent person and he's tried to be a reasonable parent, but in a funny way, I think that's been part of the problem.
"James has tried to reason with Ross over the years, but Ross is very much his own person and doesn't want to be reasoned with - certainly not from someone who's 20 years older and who he thinks is completely out of touch. Ross insults James in front of his entire family, so James snaps. He's never done that before and he's extremely shocked at what he's done."
http://i1.cdnds.net/14/03/618x406/so...rton-row-2.jpg
James punches Ross
© ITV
James punches Ross
Why is Ross trying to force the drugs on Pete?
"Pete has been dealing the drugs but he's never tried them. Ross says to Pete, 'You need to know what you're selling! How do you know what's in them?'"
Does James feel guilty when he hears that Pete is the drug dealer, not Ross?
"He feels a bit bad, but not as bad as you might expect him to feel! Ross has earned that punch. James doesn't hit Ross about the drugs, even though the argument is about the drugs. It's more that Ross is showing him up in front of everybody else, and it's also cumulative - it's 10 years of abuse.
"Ross has been foul to James for years and he is the reason that the last farm went under. There's a backstory which we're discussing at the moment and there's a lot of past evidence where Ross has really wound James up. So that punch has 10 or 15 years of bad behaviour behind it. James thinks that Ross kind of deserves it, regardless of whether he's been selling drugs or not."
Do you think Ross and James can ever heal their rift?
"I would imagine that they could, but it will take quite a bit of time. They've been at loggerheads for such a long time, but I suspect that they also see a lot of themselves in each other. They're both astonishingly stubborn and won't give ground, either of them. In that sense, they're bound to rub up against each other.
"When they say sorry, it's always qualified because there's 10 or 15 years of mistrusting behaviour between them. They don't really trust each other and Ross even says to James that he doesn't really like him. They kind of understand each other, but they don't like each other."
http://i2.cdnds.net/14/03/618x402/so...rton-row-4.jpg
Ross is knocked to the ground
© ITV
Ross is knocked to the ground
Why is that?
"James doesn't like the way that Ross behaves. With Ross, it might just be that he doesn't respect James. As far as Ross is concerned, James is a bit of a failure - he's lost his marriage and his farm and been a pretty rubbish dad. I don't think the relationship is beyond repair, but it's pretty broken at the moment."
Do the Barton boys still feel welcome at Moira's farm?
"They're starting to feel less welcome! If there was a welcome, they've outstayed it and they know that. They've been looking for new places, but the problem is that all of the farms are too expensive and they don't have any money. They're essentially bankrupt. They have a herd, though, so James is trying to join forces with Moira and get the herd to work for them and get back on their feet. They're rearing cattle to sell, so that's how they're going to rebuild their business."
Is there a part of James that enjoys living with the Bartons?
"He enjoys being around Moira, but not when Cain is there! In lots of ways it's a double-edged sword. James Barton is in love with Moira but he won't say anything. If he does say anything, it won't be for a while. As I've said previously, he's carried a torch for Moira for some time but he's also a gentleman. Unless he feels he has no choice or unless he feels emboldened, he certainly wouldn't put Moira in an embarrassing position in front of anybody else.
"Plus if his feelings weren't reciprocated - and he isn't sure if they would be - he would get chucked out. There's too much at stake for him in terms of his family, his business and also his heart. He doesn't want to risk any of those things."
What does James make of Moira and Cain's relationship at the moment?
"Moira is very clearly with Cain. The viewers may see another side of their relationship when Moira's not happy with Cain, but James doesn't see that. He never sees that side of it, so as far as he's concerned, they're very happy together. I suspect James thinks that Moira could do better than Cain, but he sees that they're happy and it's not his place to break them up."
Emmerdale's Bill Ward: 'James, Adam twist will cause big drama'
Emmerdale's James Barton is a man on a mission next week as he desperately tries to find out the truth about Adam's paternity.
When James begins to suspect that Adam (Adam Thomas) could be his son rather than his nephew, he demands answers from Moira (Natalie J Robb) but grows increasingly frustrated when she repeatedly shuts him down.
Here, Bill Ward - who plays James - offers his take on the twist that could rock the Barton family.
What is the history between James and Moira?
"James and Moira had a thing some considerable time ago. Up until this point, we haven't been quite sure what it is - but it turns out that they had a one-night stand. James has always thought that he should have been with Moira. He's spent 22 years thinking that, but Moira has made it abundantly clear that she simply doesn't want there to be anything between them. James is not daft and he's worked that out, so he's decided to just let it go.
"That's where the frostiness comes between them. Moira was very much in love with John when she had the one-night stand with James, although it was a tricky time for their relationship. On the other hand, James had always had a thing for Moira at the time of the one-night stand, and he subsequently carried that on.
"For James it was one of the highlights of his life - and also one of the lowlights of his life because for various reasons there are quite a number of repercussions that come from it."
Tell us how James begins to suspect that Adam is his son.
"It all starts with a case of crossed wires. James finds out that Adam's birthday is coming up. He works out how old Adam must be and buys him a really expensive watch, thinking that he's turning 21.
"James and Adam have not been getting on particularly well at this point. James thinks Adam is a waster and doesn't run the farm properly. Adam has also lost James an awful lot of money with the recent deal that went wrong. Adam is not in James's good books, but James is trying to make it up to him. He realises that he's been a bit hard on the lad, because he's just a young boy, really.
"It's while James is wrapping up the present that he tells Chas it's for Adam's 21st birthday. Chas says that it's actually his 22nd birthday as his 21st was last year. James can't quite believe it. It strikes him that there is a possibility that Adam could be his son."
What does James do about it?
"James tries - quite gently at first - to have conversations with Moira about it, but she simply won't go there and keeps shutting it down. Each time Moira does that, it's more abrupt than the time before!
"That gives James a problem, because he doesn't want to put Moira in a difficult position, but he does want to know what the truth is. James is quite a responsible and reasonable bloke, but he's quite tenacious when it comes to finding out about the truth of anything. In this type of situation, he will not let it lie until he's absolutely satisfied with the answer that he gets.
"Moira's responses make James increasingly suspicious that there is a chance that Adam could be his son. Once there is that chance, he just goes after it until he finds out the truth either way."
While he's thinking about it, James also comes close to running over Adam with a tractor!
"That was an awful lot of fun to film! The reason why that comes about is that James is asking whether Adam is his son or not, and Moira will not give him an answer. That makes James more suspicious, so it's really on his mind and he's preoccupied.
"James doesn't see Adam coming, so he reverses and knocks him over. It's a glancing blow and Adam is fine, but it's a good pointer to how preoccupied James is. He is like a dog with a bone and he's a stubborn piece of work!"
Moira eventually says that Adam was born two months early, which means he must be John's. Does that appease James?
"It appeases him for that moment, because it is an answer to the question. But the more James thinks about it, the more it becomes clear that it's not the only answer to the question. If John's son was born two months early, he could still be James's."
James later takes £10,000 out of the bank to buy some equipment for the farm, but the money disappears! What happens?
"James hears about a silage trailer that is going cheap, so he goes to get some money out of the bank. While he is on the way to go and haggle with the farmer who owns the silage trailer, he has a quick conversation with Moira and Cain outside the garage.
"At that moment, James's son Ross is pinned to the floor by a car engine. He runs over to help him out and when he comes back, he suddenly realises that the money has vanished…"
What happens next?
"Moira blames James for the money going missing, when it's not really his fault. It was James's responsibility, but it's not his fault and he cannot see why Moira doesn't understand that. They have a bit of a barney about it, and Moira is really piling on the pressure about it. Adam is also loving it because James has given him such a hard time about losing money on the deal.
"Moira and James have a chat about the situation in the pub, and it becomes very clear to James that he can't work with someone who doesn't trust him. It irks him that Moira will no longer trust him, so in those circumstances, he is not prepared to work for her any longer. What James smells is constructive dismissal and he can see where it's going. Under those type of circumstances, he fires himself."
He also moves out of the farm, doesn't he?
"Yes, James decides that he can't possibly live there anymore. He's had a pretty rubbish time living there anyway, and he hasn't wanted to be there for a while. In a way, it solves a problem for him because he moves out of a place where he doesn't feel comfortable.
"What James hasn't thought about is where he's going to move to. He certainly doesn't want to live with Ross or Adam, so he knocks on Chas's door and tries to hint his way in there. Chas is forced to agree. It's a little bit early for both of them, but she takes him in."
Do you think it would be a good twist if Adam did turn out to be James's son?
"Either way, there is a lot of drama to come. Even if Adam isn't James's son, I suspect there will be a lot of drama in terms of how he works that out. It'll also be a situation where James is trying to get to the truth and Moira is trying to stand in his way.
"If Adam is James's son, that is tremendously bad news for all concerned. From Moira's point of view, it means that John wasn't Adam's dad. From James's point of view, it means that he is going to have to tell his boys that they've got another brother. He'll also have to tell his boys that he was unfaithful to their mother and the last 22 years have been a lie.
"Either way, there's a lot of drama in this story - and it's just a case of which way the writers decide to go with it!"
