10 Facts About… Patrick Mower (Emmerdale’s Rodney)
lnside soap YOUR BRIEFING ON THE MAN BEHIND EMMERDALE’S RODNEY…
1 Patrick Archibald Shaw was born in Oxford on 12 September 1938
– although because his birth wasn’t registered, for many years he believed that he was born in 1940. Patrick didn’t originally consider a career in acting, initially training as an engineering draughtsman at the Cowley plant of Pressed Steel Company Ltd. But he later enrolled at RADA, and was soon a familiar face on our television screens…
2 Patrick first turned up in Emmerdale as businessman Rodney Blackstock
in 2000. Introduced as the ex-husband of Diane (Elizabeth Estensen) and absent father of Bernice (Samantha Giles), Rodney wasn’t exactly given a warm welcome when he swanned back into their lives after so many years. However, he soon settled into village life and created a stir by dating barmaid Louise, who was half his age! Since then, Rodney’s been joined in the Dales by daughter Nicola, and has struggled with his difficult relationship with gay son Paul. 3 In real life, Patrick’s first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart Audrey Giles, with whom he had a son, Simon (born 1964), and a daughter, Claudia (born 1968). After his marriage to Audrey ended, Patrick enjoyed a seven-year relationship with actress Suzanne Danielle in the early 1980s. In 1996, he tied the knot with second
4 Patrick came very close to playing one of cinema’s greatest characters
– James Bond! When Sean Connery was considering hanging up his tuxedo in the late-1960s, Patrick was asked by iconic film producer Harry Saltzman if he’d be up for taking on the role of agent 007. Patrick met up with the casting directors no fewer than eight times, but he told them that as he was just 28, he thought he was far too young to play the part. Oh, Patrick – you could have been Bond!
wife Anya Pope, who is 28
years his junior. The pair now live in Louth in Lincolnshire, and have one son together, Maxim, who was born in 1998.
5 Despite that near miss, star Patrick managed to rack up an impressive list of credits
during the 70s, making guest appearances in pretty much every popular TV show going. Patrick was no slouch on the big screen, though, as he played roles in Black Beauty, To Catch A Spy and The Devil’s Advocate. He even starred in one of the famous Carry On movies – 1976’s Carry On England – alongside series favourites such as
Joan Sims. 6 Patrick’s home is quite the Noah’s Ark! “We seem to be getting more and more animals,” he admitted. He and his wife own dogs, cats, horses and sheep – and were once stunned when a donkey turned up out of the blue. He said: “We forgot that we’d spoken to this chap who wanted to retire, and said we would look after it!” 7 Patrick is a keen writer and penned his autobiography – Patrick Mower: My Story – in 2007, published by John Blake. It’s a juicy read to say the least, and includes details of his many love affairs – such as the time he slept with a model called Robyn, who only revealed afterwards that she used to be man! “At one point, I dated 11 different women at the same time,” wrote Patrick. “I had a particular penchant for ‘Page 3’ girls. It took great dexterity to manage so many affairs, and I finally got caught out.” Blimey!
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Back in 2004, Patrick was on a celebrity edition of Stars In Their Eyes, with his Emmerdale co-star Liam O’brien (Ethan Blake).
9 He became well known for playing detectives and secret agents on screen in the 1970s, however Patrick also got to try out as a real-life Sherlock! Well, sort of – for three years, he was a regular face on ITV’S game show Whodunnit?,
hosted by one-time Doctor Who Jon Pertwee. Each week, Patrick and his fellow panellists would interview the suspects after watching a dramatised murder-mystery, before trying to work out who the true culprit was.
Together, the Dales duo performed as legendary 1970s pop group Dr Hook – but they were beaten by Brian Blessed as Luciano Pavarotti!
10 In 2005, Patrick was given the diagnosis that he was going blind! He later revealed that he first became worried his sight was failing when he was playing tennis. When glasses didn’t solve the problem, doctors found out he had preretinal glial membrane, which is when the retina crinkles up. “When they told me that I was going blind, I was distraught,” he said. For a while, it seemed as if Patrick might be forced to leave the Dales, but fortunately he underwent surgery and his sight was saved. So hopefully Patrick will be playing Rodney for many years to come!