Emmerdale bad boy Ross Barton hasn't had much to celebrate this year, but in real life, the character's popularity has earned actor Michael Parr a nomination at the National Television Awards 2015.
Michael has secured a place on the longlist for the Best Newcomer category but is now relying on public votes to take him through to the final shortlist.
Digital Spy recently caught up with Michael for an exclusive chat about his nomination, his acting career to date and some snippets on what to expect from Ross's upcoming return to the village…
How does it feel to be in the running for a National Television Award?
"It's really flattering. It makes me a little bit nervous because it would be great to win, but I'm just really grateful to have been put forward for it. There are other people out there who are doing a great job as well, so I feel like I'm in a category of good actors and I'm quite proud of myself, really! If I made the shortlist I'd be over the moon, but it really is just nice to be nominated."
When did you first hear the news? Did you find out before the official announcement?
"No, I found out by people saying congratulations on Twitter - that's usually how I find out about most things these days!"
Have you thought much about your chances of winning?
"I haven't thought about it too much, but I know Maddy Hill from EastEnders is also up for it and she won the prize at the British Soap Awards. The NTAs are a huge event and very glamorous, so if I did win and had to make a speech, I'm sure I'd be very nervous. The awards are held at the O2 and they do pack it out. It must be like you're playing Wembley if you have to get up and make a speech!"
How did you feel about getting your first award with the Best Newcomer prize at the Inside Soap Awards earlier this month?
"That was nice - it was nice to win something finally! I've been nominated quite a lot since I joined the show but hadn't actually won anything, so it was great to finally take home an award. I think I was the most-nominated person in the room, so it can be a bit embarrassing when your name keeps getting mentioned but you don't actually win anything!"
When you joined Emmerdale, did you ever expect Ross to make the impact that he has done?
"I knew the character had the potential to come in, make a big impact and affect a lot of the characters in the show. I didn't expect to get the big love storyline that I got with Donna, though, and I didn't realise how much of an impact he would make with that. Just from my Twitter responses, people seem to have taken a big shine to Ross. I think people just love to hate him because he's a bad lad but he's got a heart as well."
Did that turnaround in opinion surprise you?
"I knew when I heard about the Donna storyline and those scripts started coming out that it would change people's opinions of Ross, but I also quite like it when people give me abuse about him and people hate him! As long as I'm getting a reaction out of people, I know I'm doing my job right. Whether people are saying they love Ross or hate him, it's great to get a response."
Which of your scenes are you most proud of?
"The scene that stands out to me is one that we filmed for the aftermath of Donna's death. Ross was back in the house on his own and he had to cry. That's always quite a challenging thing - when the crew shout 'action' and you have to turn those emotions on straight away, but from the hard work that me and Verity Rushworth had put into the build-up, it came really naturally. I knew we had worked really hard just by how emotional we felt when we were filming it."
Ross has been off screen for a while, so have you heard from many fans who are missing him?
"I get quite a lot of tweets every day asking when Ross is coming back and I've not been allowed to say much about it. I did slip up once and write something on Twitter, but I had to delete it very quickly!"
Was your break storyline-led or did you want the time off?
"I never want time off, really - I absolutely love coming to work! It just so happened that the storyline was coming to an end and I had two weeks' holidays left. I'd also been set to go to Glastonbury, but I couldn't go as it was when we were filming Donna's death and they really needed me to be around. They owed me a week for that too, so with the three weeks I was away, two of my friends were travelling around South America and I just went to join those guys."
We can say you are coming back, so does Ross have some good material coming up?
"I have been back filming and I've already had lots of stuff to sink my teeth into. You can expect an explosive return and you might see the return of the old Ross, not the one that you last saw…"
Do you want to see Ross go back to his old ways?
"I think you've got to earn people's affections, really, so it's nice to push people away, bring them back in and then push them away again. I like to turn people's opinions around, so when I left the show some people were saying that they loved Ross and thought he was great, but now I think people are going to be quite abusive towards me again!"
What kind of work were you doing before Emmerdale?
"I did my first play when I was about 10. I did a lot of musicals up until the age of about 16, and I did a lot of operas when I was a kid as well. I had a very high-pitched, squeaky voice - I'm sure there's videos kicking about somewhere that I hope are never found!
"I went to college in Birmingham and did a BTEC. That was quite hands-on so we did lots of plays there - lots of Shakespeare and Jacobean plays. Then I went off to drama school and afterwards I got quite a lot of work on the fringe circuit, but never cracked the West End or bigger theatres, which is something I'd still like to do whenever this job comes to an end.
"I also did a few different TV shows but always playing bad guys. I don't know what it is about me that's giving off that bad guy vibe!"
How have your friends and family reacted to your Emmerdale fame?
"To those guys I'm not famous at all - I don't feel famous and even if I did ever get above my station, they'd bring me down a peg or two!
"They've all been over the moon as they've seen the hard work that I've put in. I've done lots of other jobs in between acting too - I've worked in factories, I was a teacher, and I did fitness training. I've pretty much done every job I can to get to where I am right now. I'm just grateful that I can now wake up and not have to do a job that I don't really want to be doing."
Did you have other passions just in case acting didn't work out?
"Yeah but I think I missed out. I did kickboxing and Muay-Thai for a long time, so I would really like to own a gym and I think I would get a lot out of coaching people and watching their progression.
"That's something I would have maybe liked to have done if I'd started a little bit younger - I'm way past it now for a kickboxing career! At 28 those careers don't last for very long!"
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