Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Encyclopedia
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character
in the British
soap opera
Emmerdale
played by Richard Thorp
. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has mellowed throughout the years and is now a 'pillar of the community' type figure. Due to Richard's Thorp's ageing and ailments in recent years, Alan has been written out for lengthy periods of time.
, who later got his job.
From 1982 to 1988, Alan often found himself outwitted by NY Estates' wiley gamekeeper Seth Armstrong
, in a long series of comic storylines which were highly popular with the show's viewers.
Alan was married to Jill, with whom he had two children: Terence
and Steph
(known as Mary until deciding to adopt her middle name as her first name). Alan favoured Terence over Steph in their youth.
Alan has had many relationships. His first within the soap's narrative at Emmerdale was with Caroline Bates (Diana Davies) after she became his secretary at NY Estates in 1984. She saw him as an inadequate blustering man with charm and kindness underneath. Their business relationship was portrayed as a comedy duo during the series in the mid-to-late 1980s and the couple came close to marrying in 1989, shortly before Caroline left the village to care for her ailing mother in Scarborough.
Alan married Shirley Foster in 1994. She died four months after they married after being shot by Reg Dawson during the siege at Home Farm.
Alan later became landlord of the Woolpack and became a more central character within the village. He formed a close friendship with Diane Blackstock but they never pursued a relationship.
Alan's granddaughter, Tricia Stokes, arrived in the village 1998 and they shared a close relationship. He gave his blessing when Tricia married local chef, Marlon Dingle
, and even let them live with him for a time.
Steph Forsythe
, Alan's daughter and Tricia's mother arrived in 2002. She and Alan's relationship was a contrast to that of him and Tricia with them having many disagreements. They became united for a short time in their grief for Tricia after she was killed in the storm on New Year’s Eve 2003.
Shelly Williams was introduced in 2003 as a new love interest for Alan and as Steph’s best friend. Steph became jealous at having a rival for Alan’s attention and voiced her disapproval of their relationship. Their relationship continued and they began making plans to move to Spain
. Steph started spreading rumours that Shelly was only after Alan's money and Shelley ended up leaving Emmerdale and Alan.
With Shelley's departure, Alan began drinking heavily. One day, Alan and Steph had an argument on the stairs at the B&B and Alan fell down them. His injuries left him at Steph’s mercy and she began doping him and formulated a plan to sell his business and have Alan admitted to sheltered accommodation.
Alan, eventually, realised what Steph was doing and managed to get word to his neighbours. Steph was stopped but not before she almost killed them by driving to a quarry edge. She was unable to go through with killing her father.
Evidence of Shelly being held in the B&B cellar emerged and it looked like Steph had murdered her.
After months waiting for news, Alan accepted Shelly was dead, only for her to come to the memorial service. Although he was horrified that Shelly had let Steph go to prison for suspected murder, he forgave her and they tried rebuilding their relationship. Shelly couldn’t live with Steph around, however, and Alan was unable to disown his daughter. Alan begged Steph to go after Shelly and bring her home. On the ferry, unknown to Alan, Steph and Shelly argued and Shelly fell overboard. Steph left her to drown, returning to the village, and her relationship with Alan grew stronger. He allowed her to take over the B&B again and Steph later fell in love with local doctor, Adam Forsythe
.
Steph later told Alan she was sexually abused as a child by her older brother Terence
. Incensed, Alan dismissed her claims and resumed contact with his estranged son. He turned against Steph, Adam and Betty
and moved in to Holdgate Farm with Terence.
Soon after, Alan discovered that Terence had abused Steph, and he threw him out. Terence returned to torment Steph, leading to a violent struggle between Terence, Adam and Steph. This resulted in Terence’s death. Although Adam took her on holiday and married her, the murder weighed on Steph's sanity. Alan was deeply distressed to see his daughter in such a bad way and was heartbroken when she was sectioned.
Adam lied to Alan, pretending Steph’s confession was a lie attributable to her crumbling sanity, but he felt Steph was telling the truth. He began to listen but with Adam holding all the cards and Steph in a terrible state, Alan wasn't sure if he could do anything to help her.
Adam did a runner when Steph was released from hospital and Terence's body was found under the rubble of Kings River Show House. With Adam gone, Steph was charged with her brother's murder. Alan was desperate to get his daughter out of prison as he feared that she couldn't cope.
On November 10, Steph confessed to Alan that she had a hand in Shelly's death and was later sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her brother. Following Steph's imprisonment and Terence's cremation, Alan wanted answers and went to see Adam in prison on November 12. He was shocked when Adam's ex-wife Isla told him Adam had hanged himself.
Feeling low, Alan sought comfort from Betty, clumsily making a pass at her. Alan was embarrassed when she rejected him and things were awkward for a while. In December 2006, Alan decided to visit Kathy Brookman
in Australia and stayed over Christmas, reminiscing about old times with Seth Armstrong
, who had died the previous year. Alan returned to the village and lived with Betty and her beau Sandy Thomas
, but in early 2008, visited Kathy again, returning in June. In August, he shared a kiss with Pearl Ladderbanks
. Since then they have been closer friends but wouldn't call themselves a couple.
In February 2009, Alan mourned the loss of his one-time foe turned friend, Jack Sugden. In April, David Metcalfe
asked him to run for the Council in opposition to Eric Pollard
. Alan had no desire to return to politics but advised David in his candidacy. David won but soon disappointed Alan due to lack of attention to his duties.
In July 2009, Alan's old biker mate, Eddy Fox, dropped into the village, asking Alan to go travelling with him. Alan was reluctant to go so Edna's sister, Lily, went instead. Alan joined them later and was away for a period of nine months.
Alan returned on 9 April 2010. He gave newcomer Declan Macey advice on how to run Home Farm after Declan asked him about his tenure in the 1980s as Home Farm manager. In December 2010, Val Pollard
asked Alan about the events surrounding Eric Pollard's second wife Elizabeth's death 17 years earlier in the plane crash after her son Michael Feldmann turned up accusing Eric of murdering her and using the crash to cover it up. Alan told Val that there had been a lot of suspicion about Eric in the aftermath of the plane crash. Alan also met Michael and after catching up with him, lent him some money when he could see Michael was struggling. In January 2011 Alan and Betty moved into Mill Cottage temporarily after a fire, started by corrupt policeman Nick Henshall ripped through the row of cottages which Keepers Cottage was part of. Alan and Betty moved back in once Keepers was renovated. For his 76th birthday on 5 August 2011, Alan was touched by the replacement watch that his friends had bought him after his old one stopped working.
Later on Alan offered to look after Sandy Thomas after he had a fall. Alan soon began to regret this as Sandy was quite stubborn.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
played by Richard Thorp
Richard Thorp
Richard Thorp is an English actor, who appeared in such great British films as The Dambusters and the 1957 film The Barrets of Wimpole Street.. He is best known for playing the part of Alan Turner on ITV soap Emmerdale since 1982. Previous TV roles included Dr...
. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has mellowed throughout the years and is now a 'pillar of the community' type figure. Due to Richard's Thorp's ageing and ailments in recent years, Alan has been written out for lengthy periods of time.
Character Backstory
Born in 1935 in Chichester, Sussex, Alan Turner had a brother William who died young, and he was always cleverer than Alan. Alan had married Jill when they were very young and they had two children Terence in 1951 and Mary in 1953. He was appointed new manager of NY Estates in Beckindale in early 1982.1982—
Alan Turner came to Emmerdale in 1982. His early years were dominated by his business dealings and work on the local council. He worked as an estate manager for NY Estates, having a rival of sorts in Joe SugdenJoe Sugden
Joseph "Joe" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Frazer Hines.Joe was one of the main characters in the Yorkshire-set soap for a 22-year period between 1972–1994 with a brief intermittancy of three years in the 1980s...
, who later got his job.
From 1982 to 1988, Alan often found himself outwitted by NY Estates' wiley gamekeeper Seth Armstrong
Seth Armstrong
Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character in the ITV soap Emmerdale, played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2003, when the actor's ill health forced him to leave the show for more than a year...
, in a long series of comic storylines which were highly popular with the show's viewers.
Alan was married to Jill, with whom he had two children: Terence
Terence Turner
Terence Turner is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by first by Stephen Marchant and then by Nick Brimble until the character's demise....
and Steph
Steph Forsythe
Mary Stephanie "Steph" Forsythe was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Lorraine Chase.-2002–04:...
(known as Mary until deciding to adopt her middle name as her first name). Alan favoured Terence over Steph in their youth.
Alan has had many relationships. His first within the soap's narrative at Emmerdale was with Caroline Bates (Diana Davies) after she became his secretary at NY Estates in 1984. She saw him as an inadequate blustering man with charm and kindness underneath. Their business relationship was portrayed as a comedy duo during the series in the mid-to-late 1980s and the couple came close to marrying in 1989, shortly before Caroline left the village to care for her ailing mother in Scarborough.
Alan married Shirley Foster in 1994. She died four months after they married after being shot by Reg Dawson during the siege at Home Farm.
Alan later became landlord of the Woolpack and became a more central character within the village. He formed a close friendship with Diane Blackstock but they never pursued a relationship.
Alan's granddaughter, Tricia Stokes, arrived in the village 1998 and they shared a close relationship. He gave his blessing when Tricia married local chef, Marlon Dingle
Marlon Dingle
Marlon Sebastian Dingle is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Mark Charnock. -1996–:...
, and even let them live with him for a time.
Steph Forsythe
Steph Forsythe
Mary Stephanie "Steph" Forsythe was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Lorraine Chase.-2002–04:...
, Alan's daughter and Tricia's mother arrived in 2002. She and Alan's relationship was a contrast to that of him and Tricia with them having many disagreements. They became united for a short time in their grief for Tricia after she was killed in the storm on New Year’s Eve 2003.
Shelly Williams was introduced in 2003 as a new love interest for Alan and as Steph’s best friend. Steph became jealous at having a rival for Alan’s attention and voiced her disapproval of their relationship. Their relationship continued and they began making plans to move to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Steph started spreading rumours that Shelly was only after Alan's money and Shelley ended up leaving Emmerdale and Alan.
With Shelley's departure, Alan began drinking heavily. One day, Alan and Steph had an argument on the stairs at the B&B and Alan fell down them. His injuries left him at Steph’s mercy and she began doping him and formulated a plan to sell his business and have Alan admitted to sheltered accommodation.
Alan, eventually, realised what Steph was doing and managed to get word to his neighbours. Steph was stopped but not before she almost killed them by driving to a quarry edge. She was unable to go through with killing her father.
Evidence of Shelly being held in the B&B cellar emerged and it looked like Steph had murdered her.
After months waiting for news, Alan accepted Shelly was dead, only for her to come to the memorial service. Although he was horrified that Shelly had let Steph go to prison for suspected murder, he forgave her and they tried rebuilding their relationship. Shelly couldn’t live with Steph around, however, and Alan was unable to disown his daughter. Alan begged Steph to go after Shelly and bring her home. On the ferry, unknown to Alan, Steph and Shelly argued and Shelly fell overboard. Steph left her to drown, returning to the village, and her relationship with Alan grew stronger. He allowed her to take over the B&B again and Steph later fell in love with local doctor, Adam Forsythe
Adam Forsythe
Dr. Adam Forsythe was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Richard Shelton.-Background:Adam arrived looking for a quiet life in the Dales following his divorce...
.
Steph later told Alan she was sexually abused as a child by her older brother Terence
Terence Turner
Terence Turner is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by first by Stephen Marchant and then by Nick Brimble until the character's demise....
. Incensed, Alan dismissed her claims and resumed contact with his estranged son. He turned against Steph, Adam and Betty
Betty Eagleton
Elizabeth "Betty" Eagleton is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Paula Tilbrook. She made her first on-screen appearance on 12 April 1994 and, in 2011, following the death of Viv Hope, she is the longest-serving female character.-Backstory:Betty Pendergrast and...
and moved in to Holdgate Farm with Terence.
Soon after, Alan discovered that Terence had abused Steph, and he threw him out. Terence returned to torment Steph, leading to a violent struggle between Terence, Adam and Steph. This resulted in Terence’s death. Although Adam took her on holiday and married her, the murder weighed on Steph's sanity. Alan was deeply distressed to see his daughter in such a bad way and was heartbroken when she was sectioned.
Adam lied to Alan, pretending Steph’s confession was a lie attributable to her crumbling sanity, but he felt Steph was telling the truth. He began to listen but with Adam holding all the cards and Steph in a terrible state, Alan wasn't sure if he could do anything to help her.
Adam did a runner when Steph was released from hospital and Terence's body was found under the rubble of Kings River Show House. With Adam gone, Steph was charged with her brother's murder. Alan was desperate to get his daughter out of prison as he feared that she couldn't cope.
On November 10, Steph confessed to Alan that she had a hand in Shelly's death and was later sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her brother. Following Steph's imprisonment and Terence's cremation, Alan wanted answers and went to see Adam in prison on November 12. He was shocked when Adam's ex-wife Isla told him Adam had hanged himself.
Feeling low, Alan sought comfort from Betty, clumsily making a pass at her. Alan was embarrassed when she rejected him and things were awkward for a while. In December 2006, Alan decided to visit Kathy Brookman
Kathy Brookman
Katherine Elizabeth "Kathy" Brookman is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, She was played by Malandra Burrows...
in Australia and stayed over Christmas, reminiscing about old times with Seth Armstrong
Seth Armstrong
Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character in the ITV soap Emmerdale, played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2003, when the actor's ill health forced him to leave the show for more than a year...
, who had died the previous year. Alan returned to the village and lived with Betty and her beau Sandy Thomas
Sandy Thomas
Sandy Thomas is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Freddie Jones and made his first appearance on the show 6 November 2005...
, but in early 2008, visited Kathy again, returning in June. In August, he shared a kiss with Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl Ladderbanks is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Meg Johnson. She first appeared on the show during the episode airing on 30 July 2003.-2003–07:...
. Since then they have been closer friends but wouldn't call themselves a couple.
In February 2009, Alan mourned the loss of his one-time foe turned friend, Jack Sugden. In April, David Metcalfe
David Metcalfe
David Eric Metcalfe is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Matthew Wolfenden. He is the illegitimate son of Eric Pollard-2006–09:...
asked him to run for the Council in opposition to Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
. Alan had no desire to return to politics but advised David in his candidacy. David won but soon disappointed Alan due to lack of attention to his duties.
In July 2009, Alan's old biker mate, Eddy Fox, dropped into the village, asking Alan to go travelling with him. Alan was reluctant to go so Edna's sister, Lily, went instead. Alan joined them later and was away for a period of nine months.
Alan returned on 9 April 2010. He gave newcomer Declan Macey advice on how to run Home Farm after Declan asked him about his tenure in the 1980s as Home Farm manager. In December 2010, Val Pollard
Val Pollard
Valerie "Val" Pollard is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Charlie Hardwick...
asked Alan about the events surrounding Eric Pollard's second wife Elizabeth's death 17 years earlier in the plane crash after her son Michael Feldmann turned up accusing Eric of murdering her and using the crash to cover it up. Alan told Val that there had been a lot of suspicion about Eric in the aftermath of the plane crash. Alan also met Michael and after catching up with him, lent him some money when he could see Michael was struggling. In January 2011 Alan and Betty moved into Mill Cottage temporarily after a fire, started by corrupt policeman Nick Henshall ripped through the row of cottages which Keepers Cottage was part of. Alan and Betty moved back in once Keepers was renovated. For his 76th birthday on 5 August 2011, Alan was touched by the replacement watch that his friends had bought him after his old one stopped working.
Later on Alan offered to look after Sandy Thomas after he had a fall. Alan soon began to regret this as Sandy was quite stubborn.
External links
- Alan Turner at itv.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...