Simon Lennon “A lot of people ask me how Ben compares to Robert Sugden!”
SIMON LENNON Emmerdale’s Ben Tucker ...faces your questions!
Ben is still fairly new to Emmerdale, so there are a few question marks over him. But when we put your posers to actor Simon, he tells us there’s a lot more to come…
“Can you tell us about your first day on the set of
Emmerdale?”
Well, my first day of filming was in the village and it was so lovely, but I was very nervous. The place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and I got to walk around to see it all – the pub and the café. The first person I met was Val [Lawson], who’s the first assistant director and has worked for ITV for about 40 years,
so she gave me a brilliant guided tour, which was quite complicated under the new restrictions – there were a lot of one-way systems!
“What’s the best thing about your alter ego?”
Ben is passionate about what he believes in – as am I. He’s also confident in his own abilities, while not being afraid to show vulnerability, which is a quality I love in a person. He’s had a lot to deal with as a child, with people such as Aaron, but has grown into an assured young man, who’s comfortable with who he is.
“There’s a possible romance brewing between Ben and Aaron – do you think they’d make a good couple?”
I do, but because of their history it’ll never be plain sailing – they had to get over that by becoming friends first. There have been glimpses of romance between them, and at the moment Ben’s been offering a supportive shoulder for Aaron, which could allow something more to build.
“How do you think that they would compare to Robron?”
Well, the Robron fandom is huge, and the fans are very passionate about that relationship. A lot of people ask me how Ben compares to Robert, but I don’t think there’s any comparison. They each have a completely different relationship with Aaron. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens with Ben and Aaron – it’ll be exciting, though!
“Are you good friends with Danny [Miller, who plays Aaron]?”
I am, and we knew each other before I even got the role. It was funny, I did my auditions for Ben over a couple of months, but I didn’t tell Danny until just before my screen test with him in Leeds. Obviously, I had to tell him before I got there! It’s great that we get
“Would Ben and Aaron be a good couple?”
along off screen as well, and I always look forward to going into work when we have scenes together.
“Who’s your favourite character in the show?”
Emmerdale was a staple show in my home as a kid, and I was always interested in Cain [Dingle] because of his bad-boy nature. Back in the day, it was all about Cain and Kim Tate! And now I’ve met Jeff [Hordley, who plays Cain] in real life, he’s just the complete opposite: he’s absolutely lovely. I haven’t met all of the cast members because of restrictions, plus I live in London, so I have to travel up and down to Leeds. But it’s great going back up north – I grew up in Liverpool which is nearby, so it’s great to go back.
“Ben works at HOP, but what are you like at water sports?”
I’d like to say that I’m like an expert sailor, but sadly, I’m not! I swam a lot growing up, and I did the Duke of Edinburgh when I was at school, so we did a few water-sport activities with that. I’m hoping to get stuck in now that Ben is working there!
“Emmerdale
aside, who’s your favourite co-star?”
I’m going to cheat slightly and say all of 2 Section in Our Girl on BBC1. I was involved in that show for about four years, and it evolved as people came in and out of the show. As we were abroad, we spent every minute of every day living and working together. We filmed in South Africa, Malaysia and Nepal – it was such a great period of my life.
“What was it like working with the leading ladies in
Our Girl?”
It was really great, because Michelle [Keegan, Coronation Street’s Tina McIntyre] and Lacey [Turner, aka EastEnders’ Stacey Slater] were so well-known for the soaps. Both are brilliant actors and absolute pros, as well as lovely human beings. Just to be around them and learn from them was amazing.
“What’s the most recent show that you’ve been watching?”
You have to watch Million Dollar Listing New York – it’s amazing! It’s a semiconstructed reality show about highend real estate agents in New York. I absolutely love looking at properties that I’d never be able to afford. They sell $20 million penthouses!
“What are your favourite hobbies?”
Well, I write a lot – I used to run a theatre company, so I do a lot of script development and production. Another thing I love is cooking, and I always like to try new foods: that’s something I really got into in the first lockdown. I also enjoy football – I have to play a lot so I can balance out my eating!
“Are you friends with Danny Miller?”