Emmerdale star Deena Payne has revealed she asked bosses NOT to hire Tony Audenshaw as Bob Hope because she found him “creepy”.
The Viv Hope actress told how bosses presented her with six actors to play the then knicker salesman in 2000.
Speaking on the new episode of podcast Soap From the Box, Deena said: “The truth being there were six people auditioning for Bob and the producer came up to me and said: ‘Look, did you have any feelings about any them?’
“And I said: ‘Look just not number six because he was really creepy.’
“And that was Tony. Anyway, bless him, not that anyone told him and he got the job.
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“And in retrospect he was so right. He used to backcomb his hair like Viv did. They were two peas in a pod, they really were.”
Emmerdale star Deena Payne wasn’t told she was being killed off
Actress Deena also revealed to the podcast how she had no idea Viv was being killed off.
Viewers watched Viv get drunk and pass out in 2011 before being killed in a fire – but Deena had no idea.
In fact, she only discovered her fate when she got a script she wasn’t in and called in to find out why.
She said: “That was a bit of a funny thing my death.
“I wasn’t furious, I was a bit hurt I think because having ridden so many waves and really enjoyed it.”
“[Producer] Steve Frost thanked me and said you’d have a really good storyline out but we can’t think of anything for the future.
“And I thought, hmm someone with a history, when you’re new you don’t have a history to bring things back.
“I was a bit taken aback when I got the script.
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“I was waiting for a storyline to work up and I’d got pantomime because I knew I was going.
“I just went up and asked if I was in anything that week because I’m starting pantomime and she said: ‘Oh you’ve gone, you’re not in it.’
“And the script I had got – I didn’t even cry out for help. I just died.”
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