Viv Hope

Template:Emmerdale character 2 Vivienne "Viv" Hope (previously Windsor and Dawson) is a fictional character on the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Deena Payne played her between 1993 and 2008, and is currently taking a year out, but will return in Summer 2009.

Overview

Viv came in 1993 as part of the new Windsor family as the mum of Scott and Donna and she was Vic's wife and Kelly's stepmum. Vic was her second husband, her first was Reg Dawson (Scott's dad).

Relationship with Vic Windsor

Viv tried to be faithful to Vic but ended up having an affair with Vic's best friend Terry Woods. But the fling fizzled out and, after a while, Vic and Viv got back together. But tragically, Vic’s life was cut short when criminal Billy Hopwood conducted an armed robbery in the post office and shot him dead.

Relationship with Bob Hope

As Viv struggled to keep her family together, Scott and Kelly were getting wilder by the day. When Kelly took an overdose after confessing she’d been sleeping with her stepbrother, Viv was plagued with guilt and tried to mend fences. But Kelly wasn’t to be tamed and continued to flirt with every man in Emmerdale - including her step-mum’s new boyfriend, Bob Hope.

Viv's only true love is Bob Hope. She met him in 2000 and they were quite clearly made for each other. Although their relationship was rocky, they married in 2001, but continued to fall out and make up on an almost daily basis. But their relationship was tested to the limit when it was revealed that Viv slept with a limo driver on her friend Tricia Stokes’ hen night and, at his daughter Dawn’s wedding, Bob exposed Viv and left her. Somehow they managed to put their relationship back together but when Scott started dating Dawn, things took another turn for the worse. After assaulting convicted rapist Frank Bernard Hartbourne, Scott persuaded Dawn to give him an alibi. But she was uncomfortable about it and Bob agreed to go with her to retract her statement to the police.

Reconciliation with Bob Hope

The move infuriated Viv so much that she threw Bob out and, even though Dawn and Scott were reunited, the couple began divorce proceedings. Alone and unhappy, Viv started a flirtation with her employee and best friend Emily Kirk’s husband Paddy.

A misunderstanding lead Paddy to confess he’s slept with Viv, resulting in Emily trashing her love rival’s shop, quitting her job and announcing their deception to the whole Woolpack.

Viv was at her lowest point and things only worsened when Scott fell into a coma after a violent showdown at home farm with Zoe Tate, the mother of his daughter, Jean.

The accident brought Kelly back into her life and although there was still some tension between them, Viv seemed to enjoy having her around.

Viv's luck was about to change, though. She and Bob finally made up after working together in a cooking competition and Viv excitedly began planning their wedding. The event was intended to be a double wedding with Donna and her fiancee Marlon Dingle.

One thing Bob wanted more than anything was to be back in touch with his all of estranged children. Viv set about contacting them all and discovered that he had had children with every single one of his wives, except for her.

On a pre-wedding holiday to Barbados, Viv was arrested for holding a marijuana joint while a surfer went into the sea. Viv was imprisoned, but later got off with a fine.

On the day of the wedding, Viv was horrified when Bob failed to arrive at the church. It transpired that Bob had actually spent the night in a hotel after a vasectomy reversal and had been taken hostage by his ex-wife Jean who begged him to leave Viv and get back together with her. When Bob finally arrived they had a big row, but eventually walked down the aisle and tied the knot for a second time.

Longing for children

Although they had spent months trying, the couple couldn't seem get pregnant. Viv was convinced she was pregnant after a test but proved to not be. The Hopes were told Viv may be too old to have another child. Thrown into despair, Viv came up with a radical solution by asking Donna to be a surrogate mother, in exchange for a deposit on their dream house.

After Dawn's death in the showhouse explosion, the family were left devastated. On the day of Dawn's funeral, Viv found out she was pregnant and expecting twins, which she gave birth to on 9 February, 2007.

Viv started doing parenting classes in Cafe Hope, telling parents on how to do their child rearing and their routines. This led to a few angry residents including Lisa Dingle saying that Viv is poking her nose in and being a busybody.

Viv's departure

It was announced by ITV on November 7 2007 that Deena Payne will be exiting the soap in 2008, but return after a 12 month break in 2009.

Charity fraud

Viv began raising money for children's charities, a drive which gained a much larger profile when Ashley Thomas and Laurel Thomas lost their son Daniel to cot death. Unfortunately for Viv, the man she entrusted with the charity money, Freddy Yorke, took the money and vanished, while her name was signed on the documents. Viv and Bob went to the police, but a flustered Viv only managed to implicate herself, as she admitted to moving funds around to try to help with the shortfall. Viv and Bob tried to keep the investigation a secret, but she was arrested at a party thrown for her at the Woolpack in honour of her charity efforts.

Both Viv and Bob were charged with conspricy to defraud.

The Hopes on Trial

On the 20th August 2008, after Donna's near-death experience in a car-crash, a flustered and stressed Viv Hope pled guilty in court and was taken away by police. She was later sentenced to serve 3 years in prison. Her voice was last heard on a recording she made of a bedtime story for Bob, Heath and Cathy.

Viv Returns

Viv is scheduled to return in August 2009, probably following a court appeal by Bob, Kelly and Donna.

External links

• Viv Hope at itv.com