Bob Hope (Emmerdale)

Bob Hope
Tony Audenshaw as Bob in 2009.
Emmerdale character
Portrayed by	Tony Audenshaw
Created by	Kieran Roberts
Duration	2000—
First appearance	19 September 2000
Classification	Present; regular
Profile
Date of birth	11 December 1960 (1960-12-11) (age 51)
Home	Tall Trees Cottage
Occupation	Barman (since 2001)
Family Wife Jean Hope (1982–84, 1986–88) Barbara Hope(1988–91) Vonda Lockhart (1994) Clarissa Hope (1997–2000) Viv Windsor (2001–05, 2006–11) Brothers Eddie Hope Sons Jamie Hope Josh Hope Oliver Hope Heath Hope Daughters Dawn Woods Carly Hope Roxy Lockhart Emma Hope Cathy Hope Grandsons T.J. Woods

Robert Reginald "Bob" Hope is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Tony Audenshaw.

Character's background

Bob arrives in Emmerdale in September 2000 as a representative for Naughty Nylons. He and Viv Windsor are immediately attracted to each other and they begin a relationship. Bob moves in with Viv and tries to make friends with her daughter Donna. He proposes while drunk and they marry in February 2001.

Bob then has to deal with his daughter Dawn moving to the village and getting engaged to his friend, Terry Woods who was 27 years older than she was. Viv and Bob are divorced in 2005 after Viv had an affair with Paddy Kirk but in the same year they reconcile and become engaged again. They marry for a second time on 16 February 2006.

Wives

Bob has been married seven times to five women. His first wife was Jean, whom he married twice. She is the mother of Dawn and Jamie Hope, but the marriage ended in divorce when he walked out.

His second wife was Barbara. They had two children, Josh and Carly, but this marriage ended in divorce when he again walked out.

His third wife was American exotic dancer, Vonda Lockhart. They were only married for 24 hours and divorced. Vonda had a daughter, Roxy, whom he only found out about when Viv tracked her down.

His fourth wife was Clarissa. They divorced but have two children, Emma and Oliver.

Finally, his fifth and final wife was Viv, whom he married for the first time in February 2001. They divorced in 2005, but remarried on 16 February 2006. They have twins, Heathcliff and Cathy.

Twins

When Bob and Viv marry for the second time, they declare that they are going to try for a baby. This, however, proves difficult because of their ages. Their intentions seem impossible after Dr. Adam Forsythe tells them that Viv is going through the menopause. This leads her to ask her daughter, Donna, to be their surrogate mother.

On the day of Dawn’s funeral, Viv is feeling unwell. Bob believes she has been drinking but when she later collapses, unknown to Bob, Donna takes her to hospital and they discover that Viv is pregnant.

In the aftermath of Dawn's death in the King's River showhome explosion, Bob declared repeatedly that he did not want any more children, so Viv decides to have an abortion, but Bob finds out and they decide to keep the baby. When Viv goes for a routine scan, they learn that she is carrying twins.

Viv gives birth to the twins, Cathy and Heath in a shack on the moors, hence the babies' names as a reference to Wuthering Heights. On Emily Kirk's return, Bob is worried she would snatch the twins and he temporarily quits his job as barman at the Woolpack to be a 'stay at home father'.

Fraud

In late 2007, Viv becomes involved with Freddie Yorke in a children's charity known as the Happy Smile Fund. Early the following year, Bob and Viv discover that the money raised for the charity is missing. They are soon arrested for fraud and everything they do seems to strengthen the case against them. Distressed at the prospect of a prison sentence, losing their money and their reputation being destroyed, Bob is further devastated to learn that Freddie and Viv had kissed once. Bob forgives Viv, and they consider running away with the twins, but Jamie convinces them to stay and face the consequences.

In August 2008, Donna is nearly killed while in a high speed car chase with Freddie. Viv could not deal with the pain her actions had caused her family, and pleaded guilty to the charges against her. Despite being innocent, she confesses and claims Bob knew nothing of her crimes. She is sentenced to three years in prison and Bob is devastated, even more so when she refuses to allow him to visit her and returns photos of the children.

Bob tries to run the cafe and post office as well as work shifts in the Woolpack and raise the twins on his own. Jamie is concerned that Bob was going to run away again and Bob is hurt by his son's lack of trust. Even more distress is caused when John McNally, a local reporter for the Hotten Courier, writes a story implicating Bob for fraud. Nicola De Souza leads the villagers in threatening to sue Bob for the charity money. Bob finally snaps and demands to see the editor of the Courier, and when his permission is refused, he hijacks a cherrypicker outside the building and maneouvers it as close to the top of the building as possible, in order to warn people of the evils of the Courier. He begin to suffer an anxiety attack and is brought to safety by the police and arrested but the charges against him are dropped. The villagers also drop their lawsuit plans.

Life Without Viv

Bob leaves Brenda Walker in charge of the cafe while he spends time visiting his daughter Roxy and her showgirl mother and third wife Vonda. When he returns, he is desperate to see Viv, and concocts several schemes to attempt to get inside the prison. Finally, posing as his friend Terry Woods, he gets a job as a drama teacher and pretends he is reading from a script about a man who misses his wife. Viv is reduced to tears as she tells him again that contact with him was too painful for her. The warden quickly discovers Bob's true identity, and promises not to press charges on condition that Bob never return.

Bob tries to focus on his business and the children, but is shocked when he realizes that Brenda has feelings for him. Because he still loved Viv, Bob fixed her up with Terry.

Viv returns to the village on her release in July 2009. In May 2010, after Viv discovers that Bob had slept with Gennie Walker whilst she was in prison, she and Bob separate.

Viv later regrets separating with Bob and tries to re-concile with him. She becomes jealous when he befriends any other females. Viv attempts to get his attention by using the twins and as an excuse and faking a break-in to the shop. She also attempts to make Bob jealous by pretending that she has moved on and making up stories about men she has met whilst out but to no avail.

External links

• Bob Hope at itv.com