Adam Barton (Adam Thomas)

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Adam Barton makes a risky decision in Emmerdale next week as he finally succumbs to Ella Hart's advances, having a passionate encounter with her at Home Farm after she seduces him in a sexy new dress. Although Adam is initially reluctant to get involved with his girlfriend's mother, he finds himself unable to resist Ella's charms and sleeps with her, marking the beginning of an affair storyline for the pair. While Ella is feeling bored following weeks of Declan taking her for granted, Adam feels that he's living out his ultimate fantasy - but will he end up regretting his fling? Adam Thomas, who plays the young farmer, recently chatted about his new plotline.

What was your initial reaction when you heard about the Adam and Ella storyline?
"I first heard about it a few months back, but I was really excited about it when I was told. Until now I've not really had a little storyline for myself, so I was really looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into it. I've been really enjoying myself during the filming and it's just been non-stop. I'm over the moon to be given the opportunity to do a storyline like this."

Why does Adam decide to go ahead with the affair?
"It's a number of reasons, really. Ella is feeling neglected and Adam is feeling sorry for her because she's always getting the cold shoulder from Declan. Also, Adam is a young lad and it's every boy's dream to have an older woman coming onto them. He's just going with the flow I suppose, but at the same time, he also has a lot to think about because he's going out with Ella's daughter."


What would you say Ella's motivations are?
"I think she just wants the attention, really! She wants attention from Declan, but because he's not giving it to her, she decides that she can get it from Adam instead."

Could the feelings between them become more serious, or will it just stay as a bit of fun?
"Well, it does start off as a bit of fun, but as time goes on, Adam's not so sure. He does like Ella and he likes the idea of being with a mature woman - talking to Ella is a big difference from what he's used to when he's having talks with Mia. So Adam is having fun, but later on we'll see events take a turn and it starts to get a little bit out of hand."

Was it slightly nerve-wracking when you heard that you'd be filming romantic scenes with an older woman?
"Yeah, it was a bit at first, but you just get on with it - it's your job at the end of the day. When you first read the scripts, you think, 'Oh, it could be a bit awkward, that!', but once we get on set we all have a laugh about it and get on with it."

Until recently, most of Adam's scenes were with the Bartons, so have you been glad to see him broaden his horizons a bit by sharing lots of screen time with the Maceys?
"Yeah, it's really good to work with the Maceys. I do love working with the Barton family - they're all great and we all have a laugh, but it was really nice to get out and do something different. You don't always get to work with everyone else in the cast, but here I've been given the chance to get to know Jason Merrells, Corrinne Wicks and Sapphire Elia - that's been really good and I've enjoyed it."


Does the affair with Ella mean that Adam's feelings for Mia have become less strong?
"No, he does love her - I think he just doesn't know what's going on as it's all happened so fast and he hasn't really had time to think about it. As time goes on, though, it'll all get a bit too much, everything will get on top of him and he'll have to decide which one he wants. But until then, like I say, he's just a young kid and he's living out every boy's fantasy."

As Declan has been quite good to Adam by giving him a job at Home Farm, do you think Adam's slightly foolish for putting it all at risk?
"I think he is, but again, he's not really thinking about it too much. He does consider it, but he's not thinking about it as much as he should do. But there does come a point in the storyline where it all starts to hit home - there's so much at stake with John trying to buy the farm from Declan, as well as Declan being Adam's boss. Adam is playing on really rough territory - his family could lose their business and their home because of this. He'll have to take all of that into consideration and it does all start to come into perspective as time goes on."

So do you think Adam might live to regret this affair?
"Definitely! He'll start to wonder how he got himself into this mess and he'll probably want to turn back time and not have gone there. It does go too far and he'll have to face the consequences…"


As Adam has been replaced at Butlers by Alex Moss, could we see a rivalry develop between the two characters?
"I hope so - I really do hope so! I really like working with Kurtis Stacey who plays Alex, he's just joined the show and he's a top lad - he's one of the boys now. Hopefully the writers will see that possibility and we can have a lot to do together, but we'll just have to wait and see. I'd definitely like Adam to have a lot more to do with Alex."

After the Wyldes vs. Lambs storyline last year, do you think the Bartons vs. the Maceys could be the next big Emmerdale war?
"Possibly yeah, it could go down that route! The way things are going, it's all going to kick off, so we could definitely see something like that."


As you're so close to your screen family in real life, is it difficult to film the scenes where you're at each other's throats?
"It can be - I remember doing some scenes where John had to shout at Adam, and it felt a bit weird as I've never seen James Thornton shout at me like that before! It was a bit strange! But we are all professionals and we just get on with it - we always have fun with our scenes and we enjoy it."

Are you glad that Grace Cassidy, who plays Hannah, is also getting some bigger storylines now?
"Yeah, definitely - I love Grace to bits. I love all the Bartons to bits, but it's just really nice for everyone to have their own little storylines. Last year Sophie had Holly's drugs storyline which involved James and everyone else, so it's great to see everyone getting their own stories. You just have to wait your turn, really - there's so many people in the cast, so you just have to hold on and hopefully you'll get a little bite. But I'm really excited for Grace and I hope everything goes well for her."

Do you ever miss Adam's relationship with Scarlett?
"Yeah, Kelsey who plays Scarlett is a top girl and I loved working with her. It was a good little relationship that Adam and Scarlett had and it was a shame that it had to come to an end, but that's just what it's like in the soap world - Adam has moved on and now he's with Mia! I love the relationship with Mia too and it's all going well - I'm enjoying it and I'm having fun."

Have you had any discussions with Emmerdale's new boss Stuart Blackburn yet?
"I've not really had much chance to speak to him yet - it's a massive role to take on, so I don't want to pester him too much! But I'm sure he'll do wonders for the show and I'm sure that Gavin would be happy that he took on the lead. I think he's going to do brilliantly."

Is there anyone at Emmerdale who you'd love to work with more?
"Me and Danny Miller used to work together all the time, but we've not really had much to do together in the past few months. Danny's one of my best mates so I love working with him, and recently we have started working together again, so that's great. There's loads of other cast members that I'd love to work with - everyone's fantastic."

Finally, it's not long until this year's British Soap Awards - why do you think our readers should be voting for Emmerdale?
"Because it's just come on leaps and bounds - it keeps getting better and better and better. Everyone is putting 110% into the work, and it shows. It shows in the ratings as well - they just keep going up and up, so Emmerdale is definitely worth a vote!"

(C) DS