Donald De Souza
Encyclopedia
Donald De Souza is a fictional character
in the British
soap opera
Emmerdale
played by Michael Jayston
. Appearing between 2007 and 2008, Donald De Souza arrives as the husband of Nicola Blackstock, although their marriage quickly falls apart. During his year in the programme, Donald falls out with both his children and is estranged from his daughter before he dies of a heart attack
.
in hospital after a brain haemorrhage. His second wife, Nicola Blackstock, arrives back in Emmerdale, telling people that she was a widow. Jasmine Thomas
, an aspiring local journalist, soon finds out that Donald is still alive when she follows Nicola to the hospital. In late December 2007, Donald regains full consciousness and is aware that Nicola only married him for his money.
When Donald's alcoholic son Miles
- who Jasmine had tracked down - finds out Nicola is having an affair with David Metcalfe
, he tells Donald who presents her with divorce
papers. However, she manages to talk him out of the divorce and agrees to end the affair. When he comes home from hospital, he moves into Holdgate Farm, which Nicola has bought. He hires an actress, Cindy Burton, who claims to be his nurse so Nicola will not have to look after Donald. This has the desired effect of annoying Nicola, who then tries to murder Donald repeatedly, often hoping people will blame Cindy. David ends his relationship with Nicola when Donald offers him a position in the business, and later tells him about Nicola's attempts to kill him.
When De Souza takes Nicola out to the moors, he tells her she has the perfect opportunity to push him off a cliff. He taunts her by pushing his wheelchair near the cliff edge and nearly falls. On their return to the village - in exchange for not telling the police - he tells Nicola to leave his house immediately. The subsequent divorce battle sees Nicola try to get as big a settlement as she can. His final offer is £20,000, which she accepts days before his death.
A successful businessman, Donald's company, "De Souza Enterprises", takes the refuse collection contract from the King family and persuades Carl King
to join him. Miles De Souza, after various arguments with his father and splitting from his girlfriend Jasmine, leaves the village in August 2008.
In July 2008, Donald's daughter Anna
arrives in the village, having lived in Dubai
for years after arguing over a man Anna was in love with. However, they reconcile and she gets a position in the company - coming into conflict with Carl King. Carl later betrays the De Souzas when he gives a contract to his brothers. Donald then buys Carl out.
Determined to get revenge on the Kings, Donald and Anna agree on a plan - she will ingrain herself with the Kings so she can get the details on important contracts from them and steal it. However, she finds herself falling in love with Matthew King, and cannot betray him by giving the contract details to her father. Donald is furious when he finds out and attempts to break them up. When Matthew and Anna get engaged, they have a dinner party to celebrate. In the hope of making amends, Anna invites Donald - but he soon starts arguing and saying Anna only wants Matthew for his money. After he leaves, Matthew goes to visit Donald at Holdgate Farm and during a heated argument, Donald suffers a heart attack. Matthew withholds Donald's pills until Donald agrees to come to the wedding and put Anna back in his will, but Donald dies due to Matthew not giving him the medication. Matthew leaves and does not tell anyone what happened. A coroner
later rules Donald died from natural causes and he is buried in the village.
- had both quit the soap. The article said that morale was said to be at "an all-time low" and the cast and crew "have slammed the show's tacky storylines and lack of direction since the arrival of producer Anita Turner
." An ITV spokesman confirmed the two were leaving but denied it was because of low morale.
Writing on his "Soapland" blog
for the Daily Mirror, Tony Stewart wrote on 15 November 2008 that for an actor of Jayston's "calibre", the storyline of the Kings versus the De Souza was "dull" and rarely did "justice to his talents". However, he says that there "are flashes of passion as Donald makes his exit in a body bag".
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 Michael Jayston
Michael Jayston
Michael Jayston is a Nottingham-born English actor.- Early life :He attended the Becket Grammar School in West Bridgford, then worked briefly as a trainee accountant at the offices of the National Coal Board before obtaining a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to train as an...
. Appearing between 2007 and 2008, Donald De Souza arrives as the husband of Nicola Blackstock, although their marriage quickly falls apart. During his year in the programme, Donald falls out with both his children and is estranged from his daughter before he dies of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Storylines
Donald makes his first appearance in Emmerdale when he is on life supportLife support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
in hospital after a brain haemorrhage. His second wife, Nicola Blackstock, arrives back in Emmerdale, telling people that she was a widow. Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.-Storylines:Jasmine arrived in Emmerdale on 30 June 2005. Sent to the village by her parents during her holidays from boarding school, she stayed with her uncle Ashley Thomas, the...
, an aspiring local journalist, soon finds out that Donald is still alive when she follows Nicola to the hospital. In late December 2007, Donald regains full consciousness and is aware that Nicola only married him for his money.
When Donald's alcoholic son Miles
Miles De Souza
Miles De Souza was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He made his first appearance on 1 November 2007 and his last appearance on 31 July 2008, and was portrayed by Ayden Callaghan.-Creation:...
- who Jasmine had tracked down - finds out Nicola is having an affair with 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:...
, he tells Donald who presents her with divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
papers. However, she manages to talk him out of the divorce and agrees to end the affair. When he comes home from hospital, he moves into Holdgate Farm, which Nicola has bought. He hires an actress, Cindy Burton, who claims to be his nurse so Nicola will not have to look after Donald. This has the desired effect of annoying Nicola, who then tries to murder Donald repeatedly, often hoping people will blame Cindy. David ends his relationship with Nicola when Donald offers him a position in the business, and later tells him about Nicola's attempts to kill him.
A successful businessman, Donald's company, "De Souza Enterprises", takes the refuse collection contract from the King family and persuades Carl King
Carl King (Emmerdale)
Carl Thomas King is a fictional character appearing on the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is portrayed by Tom Lister and made his first appearance on 6 February 2004....
to join him. Miles De Souza, after various arguments with his father and splitting from his girlfriend Jasmine, leaves the village in August 2008.
In July 2008, Donald's daughter Anna
Anna De Souza
Anna Catherine De Souza is a fictional character on the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Emma Davies. She made her first appearance on 8 July 2008 and left on 6 January 2009.-Character creation and development:...
arrives in the village, having lived in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
for years after arguing over a man Anna was in love with. However, they reconcile and she gets a position in the company - coming into conflict with Carl King. Carl later betrays the De Souzas when he gives a contract to his brothers. Donald then buys Carl out.
Determined to get revenge on the Kings, Donald and Anna agree on a plan - she will ingrain herself with the Kings so she can get the details on important contracts from them and steal it. However, she finds herself falling in love with Matthew King, and cannot betray him by giving the contract details to her father. Donald is furious when he finds out and attempts to break them up. When Matthew and Anna get engaged, they have a dinner party to celebrate. In the hope of making amends, Anna invites Donald - but he soon starts arguing and saying Anna only wants Matthew for his money. After he leaves, Matthew goes to visit Donald at Holdgate Farm and during a heated argument, Donald suffers a heart attack. Matthew withholds Donald's pills until Donald agrees to come to the wedding and put Anna back in his will, but Donald dies due to Matthew not giving him the medication. Matthew leaves and does not tell anyone what happened. A coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
later rules Donald died from natural causes and he is buried in the village.
Reception
On 13 September 2008, the Daily Mirror reported that Michael Jayston and Matthew Bose - who plays Paul LambertPaul Lambert (Emmerdale)
Paul Lambert is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Mathew Bose. Paul appeared between 2004 and 2009. He arrives as the son of existing characters Val Lambert and Rodney Blackstock and in 2008 Paul, who is openly gay, enters into a civil partnership with Jonny...
- had both quit the soap. The article said that morale was said to be at "an all-time low" and the cast and crew "have slammed the show's tacky storylines and lack of direction since the arrival of producer Anita Turner
Anita Turner
Anita Turner is a British script editor, and television producer. From 2008 to 2009 Turner was the series producer of the British television soap opera Emmerdale.-Early career:...
." An ITV spokesman confirmed the two were leaving but denied it was because of low morale.
Writing on his "Soapland" blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
for the Daily Mirror, Tony Stewart wrote on 15 November 2008 that for an actor of Jayston's "calibre", the storyline of the Kings versus the De Souza was "dull" and rarely did "justice to his talents". However, he says that there "are flashes of passion as Donald makes his exit in a body bag".
External links
- Donald De Souza at itv.com/emmerdale