Final FLING!

John’s leaving do was one of Emmerdale’s biggest nights out…

It was a hugely emotional few weeks for John Middleton as he filmed his final scenes as Ashley, but there was no way he would be allowed to leave without fitting fanfare. So his close friends and colleagues organised a party to be proud of – and John had a truly wonderful time…

“My leaving do was tremendous,” he beams. “It was at a cool venue called Casa Colombiana in Leeds, and we had a fantastic band called Mambo Jamboree performing. A huge number of people came along – some I was very surprised to see, because they never normally make it out to these kinds of things. Nearly all of the make-up and wardrobe teams were there, camera operators, directors of photography, writers and cast – it was lovely!”

“We gave John a right good send-off,” confirms Charlotte, taking up the story. “I said in the speech I made on the night that I’d never been to a leaving do with that number of people there – it was brimming! It was extraordinary, but that’s just a testament to John and how much he’s loved and respected.”

“What was the most extraordinary thing to me is that [former Emmerdale series producer] Kate Oates came along, too,” shares John. “She’s a very, very busy woman who’s now producing Coronation Street, and apparently she’d been in viewings and reading scripts all day over at Corrie, but drove all the way across from Manchester to come to the party. She stayed and chatted to everyone – and talked to me for a long time, too.

“Kate then drove back at goodness-knows-what hour to start work at Coronation Street the next day. I was immensely touched by how much effort she went to.”