Lewis to be left ‘devastated’ in Emmerdale as Kev’s dark secrets come to light
I can’t lie: Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill) has been my favourite addition to not only Emmerdale, but the whole of Soapland in forever.
He’s utterly hilarious, with the kind of comic timing and delivery usually found exclusively in sitcoms, tempered only by his dramatic capabilities, creating a thoroughly nuanced human being, deeply flawed and damaged, though still with the desire to change.
While his ‘relationship’ with prison husband, Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) was…complicated, to say the least, and at times, unleashed the darker sides of Kev’s fractured persona, his fledgling relationship with his son, Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) is unleashing a far more positive and hopeful side to the armed robber-turned-café worker.
Still, things haven’t been perfect, and the new father-son duo have hit more than one snag on the road to a relationship, but that’s only encouraged the audience’s love for the pairing, and, as it happens, Lewis actor, Bradley Riches.
‘Father and son duo. Let’s do it!’ he enthused.
‘People are loving them together and I feel like I love working with Chris and I feel like there’s going to be some mischief coming. There’s going to be some iconic moments which I am absolutely buzzing for.’
Bradley went on to gush over the on-screen bond and how much he enjoys working with Kev, while acknowledging the love from the viewers: ‘The comments have been incredible. People loving our relationship and our scenes, its bit of light in dark and crucial storylines. We’re the light, which is really nice.
‘Everything is fun with Lewis and Kev and there’s so much more to come. But there’s going to be some serious stuff as well, we’ll see how Lewis and Kev navigate serious topics.
‘I love comedy and Chris is a comedic genius. He takes comedy to another level, and does little ad-libs which add to the scene. It may take a little longer to film because we get the giggles but it’s all worth it.’
Nothing lasts forever, though, and the laughs are soon to stop according to Bradley, with Caleb and Ruby Miligan (William Ash and Beth Cordingly) both seemingly determined to drag Kev back into a life of crime.
‘Lewis would be heartbroken. Kev saying ‘I am a reformed character, I am changing for you’. Lewis will be devastated.
‘As much as people think secrets will be a secret forever, they always come out. But if he needs to do this dodgy stuff, as long as its not harming anyone else, Kev is quite experienced in dodgy deals so Lewis might turn a blind eye.
‘I doubt that would happen, as Lewis is very set on his morals. He would be upset because this is meant to be a fresh start.’
So what’s to come?
‘There will be some highs and lows, some dramas, some fights. There’s going to be a lot,’ Bradley promises.
‘Lewis starts to process something, then something happens, and it all goes back to square one. In the coming weeks you see Kev and Lewis bond because there’s some hard stuff coming up.
‘Lewis thought things were going to be perfect but nothing is as perfect as it seems. The Barton family come together and support each other, which is really nice.
Where does Bradley see their relationship going?
‘I feel like Lewis will never get the measure of his dad,’ he admits.
‘Kev is such an unpredictable character which I love about him. Even in the next scenes coming up, you think things are calming down, then Kev listens to one thing Lewis says and goes ‘I am going to make this happen for my son’.
‘It’s all from a place of love. Lewis goes ‘Oh god I shouldn’t have said that.’ Because Kev is going to run with it and do stupid things.’ He’s going to learn to love it. A bit like how Ross learned to love Lewis. It’s just Kev being Kev. Which is just a really nice thing.’
We’re rooting for you, guys!
