Emmerdale fans last saw Pierce Harris jailed for sexually assaulting his wife Rhona Goskirk in harrowing scenes in 2017, but it might not be the last time we see him on our screens. Actor Jonathan Wrather told HELLO! that he would be "crazy not to" return to the soap if he was asked to in the future.
"I had such a wonderful time on the show, I think the circumstances would have to be right - you want to always serve the show and serve any story well," he said. "So, if there was room for my character to somehow feature again then yeah I would… simply because I had such a lovely time working with all the people I worked with - and like I said it would be down to how effective it would be in the show."
© Photo: RexJonathan Wrather last appeared on our screens in 2017
Jonathan explained that the harrowing scenes caused an overwhelming reaction, with "an astonishing amount of people" being affected by the storyline. "Actually the response we had was some people watched this and it allowed them to be able to talk about their own issues and experiences to family members who had no idea that they were in those kind of relationships," said Jonathan.
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The actor keeps in touch with real life soap couple Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley, who play Rhona and Cain Dingle in the show. "I miss the people I work with, especially Zoe and Jeff - we had a lot of fun," he said. "It was a great job to be on, because it was just exciting every day and there were a lot of laughs despite our rather intense storylines. And it is a beautiful place to work as well."
In fact, Zoe is set to come and watch Jonathan in his theatre show, as he embarks on a completely new project, playing Lord Henry Wotton in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play, based on the classic novel, celebrates Wilde's wonderful language and will appeal to audiences old and new, telling the story of a cultured, wealthy and beautiful young man's downfall through moral corruption and seduction.
© Photo: RexJonathan plays Lord Henry Worron in The Picture of Dorian Gray
On how it compares to working in a soap, Jonathan said: "With stage obviously you have an audience - a live experience - different every night, you get immediate audience reaction. There is a different focus and concentration - you play a role and you follow their journey from beginning to end, whereas on TV it's all out of sequence. When people ask me if there is one I prefer - it simply depends on the nature of the project. Although, when you start out wanting to be an actor it is usually because of a school play or a youth theatre and then if you choose to train - you are usually trained on the stage or for stage work - so I guess my roots are in the theatre."
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The tour will head to Richmond, Horsham, Malvern and end in Crewe on 18 May. For more information, visit www.tiltedwigproductions.com to get tickets.
