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Karl Davies | |
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| Born | 6 August 1982 Marple, Greater Manchester, England |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Voice Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Karl Davies (born 6 August 1982) [1] is an English actor who portrayed Lyle Anderson in the TV series Kingdom . Previously, he had portrayed Robert Sugden in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale .
Davies took over the role of Robert Sugden in the soap opera Emmerdale in August 2001. The change in actor allowed the character to be developed and he soon became involved in a number of controversial storylines, most involving a long running feud with his adoptive brother Andy Sugden. He also became known for a number of romantic storylines, with Robert having an increasing number of sexual partners, including Donna Windsor, [2] Andy's wife Katie Sugden [3] and 15-year-old Debbie Dingle, the mother of Andy's daughter. [4]
As one of the young male characters in the show, he was invited to take part in a soap calendar for Now Magazine in 2004, alongside fellow actors Ben Freeman and Kelvin Fletcher. [5]
The character's final romantic storyline involved an affair with the married Sadie King, played by Patsy Kensit. This storyline received media attention when Kensit reportedly objected to a relationship with a younger actor. Kensit, however, clarified the reasons for this in an interview with Leeds Today News, stating "When I first heard about the storyline, I said 'but he looks like one of James's friends, so boyish and young'. But Karl is so adorable and we had a lot of fun filming those scenes". [6] James is Kensit's son. [7]
The brotherly feud which dominated much of Davies' time on the show was used by producers as the vehicle for a high-profile attempt to compete with rival soap EastEnders in the television ratings war ,and to secure Emmerdales place as the second most popular soap opera in the UK. The chosen storyline involved Andy's attempts to kill Robert which led to his father, Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) being shot. The story was to prove a success, securing viewing figures of 7.6 million compared with 6.4 million for EastEnders. This was the first time Emmerdale had secured such a ratings victory. [8]
For his final and highly publicised storyline, it was made clear to the media weeks in advance that either Robert, Andy or local vet Max King would be killed in an explosive road accident. [9] It was Max who died when Robert drove his car at him and Andy; he then fled the village to avoid being apprehended.
Along with the production of Dolphins, Davies also spent 2006 filming an ITV television series, Kingdom , opposite Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie, Hermione Norris and Tony Slattery. It followed the story of a solicitor (Fry) living in a quiet seaside village in Norfolk. Davies played a trainee solicitor Lyle Anderson, who dreams of escaping Market Shipborough, where the show is set, to work in the city. [10] The first series aired in 2007 and the second began in January 2008.
In 2010, Davies played multiple characters on stage in the Tricycle Theatre's The Great Game: Afghanistan. The play consisted of 12 separate one-act plays (each by a different author) about Afghanistan. The production's tour includes stops in California, Minnesota, New York, and Washington, D.C. Davies appears in four segments, frequently as a soldier. [11] In 2011 Davies was cast in the second series of the fantasy epic Game of Thrones as Alton Lannister. [12] The following year he was cast in the second series of the BBC1 drama series The Syndicate . [13]
In 2014 Davies appeared in two episodes of the drama series The Crimson Field , set in a field hospital during World War I. His character, Corporal Lawrence Prentiss, begins to suffer from combat fatigue and shell shock, and by the time of his second appearance is "completely psychologically damaged" by his experience of war. In preparation for the role, Davies watched surviving footage of shell-shock sufferers from the first world war, and was shocked by the extent of their condition. [14] Also that year, Davies filmed a minor role in the disaster film Black Sea , in which his character dismisses the protagonist Captain Robinson (Jude Law) from his job. [14] In April 2014 he began appearing in the crime thriller Happy Valley as Daniel Cawood. He returned for a second series of the drama in 2016. [15]
Prior to becoming a professional actor, Davies enjoyed extreme sports and competed in climbing competitions at the age of 14, 15 and 16, but never pursued this further than local competitions at a junior level. He has expressed a love of extreme sports such as snowboarding and skiing. During his time on Emmerdale, he publicly stated that he was prevented from participating in these activities by the producers. His only real exception to this was as part of the annual charity fund-raising event in Inverurie, where he was allowed to go wing walking on a biplane, an experience he greatly enjoyed. [16]
Davies has revealed that his role in Emmerdale led to much greater public recognition, and that the reaction from fans of the show was mixed: he was insulted and slapped in the street by strangers who were unable to tell him apart from the character he played. [17] Simultaneously, he developed a following amongst gay viewers, and received a lot of fan mail from male viewers. [18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Me and Her | Damien | Short film |
| 2007 | Octane | Brent Black | |
| 2009 | Spunkbubble | Tech Officer Harris | Short film |
| 2014 | Black Sea | Liam | |
| 2014 | The Quiet Hour | Jude | |
| 2014 | Home for Christmas | Matt Jones | |
| 2015 | Virtuoso | Sigmund | Television film |
| 2015 | Nipplejesus | The Disturbed Man | Short film |
| 2015 | NSFW | Daniel Greed | Short film |
| 2016 | Fractured | Michael | |
| 2018 | Cur:few | Wyatt | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Fat Friends | Rick Ashburn | Episode: "Fat Chance" |
| 2000–2001 | Peak Practice | Nick Pullen | Series 9–11 |
| 2001 | The Bill | Danny Lloyd | Episode: "Crush" |
| 2001–2005, 2009 | Emmerdale | Robert Sugden | 176 episodes |
| 2002 | The Hidden City | Clive | 21 episodes |
| 2007 | Dead Clever | Nathan | |
| 2007 | A Very British Sex Scandal | Johnny Reynolds | |
| 2007–2009 | Kingdom | Lyle Anderson | Series 1–3 |
| 2008 | The Unsinkable Titanic | John G. "Jack" Phillips | |
| 2010 | Midsomer Murders | Luke Woodley | Episode: "The Made-to-Measure Murders" |
| 2011 | The Case | Dan Stanley | 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Game of Thrones | Alton Lannister | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | The Syndicate | Luke | Series 2 |
| 2014 | Castles in the Sky | Skip Wilkins | |
| 2014–2023 | Happy Valley | Daniel Cawood | Series 1–3 |
| 2014 | The Crimson Field | Lawrence Prentiss | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | My Mad Fat Diary | Rob | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | The People Next Door | Richard | |
| 2016 | Brief Encounters | Terry | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Leon Tarsich | Episode: "The Fairest Show Means Most Deceit" |
| 2019 | Chernobyl | Viktor Proskuryakov | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Call the Midwife | Ronald Mallen | 1 episode |
| 2021–2024 | The Tower | DCI/DCS Tim Bailie | Series 1–3 |
| 2022 | The Baby | Jack | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | The Nevers | Lester Eason | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | The Bay | Carl McGregor | Series 4 |
Emmerdale is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale, a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1973 with a brief return in 1976, when the actor left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby. Hornby remained in the role until 2008 when he was forced to take a break from Emmerdale due to illness. His last on-screen appearance was on 21 February 2008, and his absence was explained by the character visiting his mother, Annie Sugden in Spain. Although Hornby was intended to return, he died from his illness in July 2008 without returning to the programme. Jack was written out following Hornby's death, dying off-screen of a heart attack in February 2009.
Andy Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Kelvin Fletcher. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 July 1996. Andy is the son of Billy Hopwood and Trisha Hopwood and the adoptive son of Jack Sugden and Sarah Sugden.
Robert Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. The character originally appeared on the show regularly between 22 April 1986 and 3 October 2005. During that time he was first played as a baby by Richard Smith between 1986 and 1989 before the role was taken over by Christopher Smith from 1989 until 2001. In 2001, Karl Davies took over the role in order for the character to become involved in more adult storylines, as he grew older. Davies briefly reprised his role as Robert for one episode, airing on 10 February 2009, when he returned for the funeral of his father and Emmerdale's longest running character, Jack Sugden. The character returned on 23 October 2014, with actor Ryan Hawley taking over the role.
Debbie Dingle is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Charley Webb. Webb has taken maternity leave three times, with the first time being in 2010, and the second in 2016, with Debbie departing on 1 January 2016. She returned on 24 January 2017, and then went on maternity leave for a third time in 2019, with Debbie leaving for Scotland on 13 August 2019. She returned for a short stint on 25 December 2020, and made her final appearance on 11 February 2021.
William "Billy" Hopwood is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by David Crellin. The character made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 July 1997. He was introduced as one of several new characters producers created for the show in 1997. He is the father of Andy Sugden, and his main storyline results in him murdering Vic Windsor. Crellin made a guest appearance as Billy during a 2003 storyline. Billy was reintroduced into the series in 2006 and writers created a redemption story arc for Billy. He then has an affair with Diane Sugden. Crellin made his final appearance as Billy during the episode broadcast on 19 October 2007.
Annie Sugden is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Sheila Mercier as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, with occasional guest appearances in the show after her original departure. Mercier cut back on location filming during the late 1980s and eventually left the serial in 1994 due to the gruelling schedule. Annie was one of Emmerdale's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 16 October 1972 and became the longest serving female character in the series' history. She was the soap's "first matriarch", the maternal force behind the Sugden family, who were collectively one of Emmerdale's main focal points.
Sarah Connolly is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale. She was first played by Madeleine Howard from 1988 until 1994 then by Alyson Spiro from 1994 until 2000.
James Cook, better known as James Sutton, is an English actor. His television roles include John Paul McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks and Ryan Lamb in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale (2009–2011).
Christopher Smith is an English actor and producer.
Sarah Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Katie Hill since January 2017. She is the daughter of Andy Sugden and Debbie Dingle and has appeared since June 2005. Her storylines in the series have included her diagnosis of Fanconi anaemia, her subsequent health struggles following her diagnosis and being involved with drug dealer Danny Harrington.
Donna Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was originally played by Sophie Jeffery until 1997. Actress Verity Rushworth took over the role in 1998. She made her first appearance in the show on 31 August 1993. Donna departed on 30 January 2009. At the time of her departure, Donna was the third longest running character on Emmerdale. It was announced on 8 January 2014 that Rushworth had decided to reprise her role as Donna for five months. She returned on 19 March 2014 and it was revealed that Donna was terminally ill with lung cancer. Donna committed suicide on 14 August 2014, after throwing herself and Gary North from a multi-storey car park to her death, but made her final appearance the following day, on 15 August 2014.
Sadie Carter is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Patsy Kensit. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 10 May 2004. The character was introduced as the wife of Jimmy King, who arrived with his family in 2004. Kensit left the serial to accept a role on Holby City and Sadie made her final appearance on 21 September 2006. Kensit won the Best Bitch accolade for her portrayal of Sadie at the 2005 and 2006 Inside Soap Awards.
Chrissie White is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Louise Marwood. She made her first screen appearance on 23 October 2014. The character and casting was announced on 4 October 2014. The character was the fiancé of established character Robert Sugden, who announced the character to return to the series after five years. Her storylines have included: her turbulent relationship and later marriage to Robert; being caught up in a raid at Home Farm organised by Robert; defending her teenage son Lachlan when it is revealed that he sexually assaulted Alicia Metcalfe ; discovering that Robert has been having an affair with Aaron Livesy ; accidentally causing a helicopter crash which killed multiple residents; discovering that Lawrence is not her biological father; embarking on a relationship with Robert's adoptive brother Andy Sugden, which ended with Chrissie fitting up and destroying Andy for Lawrence's attempted murder when Lachlan shoots him after discovering that Andy had cheated on her; and her intense feud with her younger sister Rebecca. Chrissie was killed-off, alongside Lawrence, in a previously unannounced departure on 11 January 2018, after being involved in a car accident involving the entire White family caused by Lachlan.
Ryan Alexander Hawley is an English actor, known for his portrayal of Robert Sugden in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 2014 to 2019.
The Sugdens are a fictional family in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Introduced during the show's conception in 1972, they were the main family for storylines between the 1970s and 1980s and remained as such for many years. The families original unit consisted of widowed farmer Annie Sugden, alongside her children Peggy Skilbeck, Jack Sugden and Joe Sugden. Subsequently these characters went on to produce more generations of Sugdens.
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