Emmerdale fans were thrilled tuning into last night’s episode of the ITV soap, as a character returned to our screens after six months. Rodney Blackstock, played by Patrick Mower, has been a staple of the show since 2000. He is the father of Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) and Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles), and often seen trying to support his two daughters in their latest drama.
Surprisingly, the last time we saw Rodney was way back in February of this year. That all changed yesterday, as the character was in the café chatting to grandson Elliot (Luca Hoyle) about how he thinks a ‘proper education’ is a complete waste of time. Elliot recently received his A-Level results, which means the family have spent a lot of time discussing what the young man is going to do now he’s left school.
Family debate over Elliot's future
Rodney thinks he turned out alright without spending years in further education, but Nicola stood her ground, concluding that she wants Elliot to go to university. Jimmy King (Nick Miles) put his tuppence worth in, hinting that he’d quite like to teach Elliot how to drive so he can eventually take over the family business…which conveniently works out a lot cheaper than sending him to uni. No-one actually bothered to ask Elliot what he wants, but sure.
After seeing Rodney again, fans of Emmerdale took to social media platform X to express their joy at seeing the legendary face again. Matthew wrote: ‘Welcome back Rodney! #Emmerdale’. Mike said: ‘RODNEY been ages since he’s been in scenes. #Emmerdale’, while Ryan said: ‘Welcome back Rodney’, with some clapping hands emojis.
Upcoming storylines
We will no doubt see Rodney in the near future, as he’ll be on hand to support Nicola and the children in the aftermath of Jimmy King’s death. We’ve known for a while now that Nick Miles is leaving his role as Jimmy, with the character being killed off. The exit is set to coincide with the return of Sadie King, played by Patsy Kensit.
A source told Metro earlier this year: ‘The scenes promise to be spectacular but the outcome will leave many fans shocked. It may prove controversial but the jaw-dropping storyline will set in motion some massive consequences for many months to follow.’
Elsewhere in exit news, Olivia Bromley will soon say goodbye to her character Dawn Taylor, while Bradley Johnson is expected to depart as Vinny Dingle. We also recently said farewell to Jack Downham’s character Noah Dingle, while Caroline Harker’s soap alter-ego Doctor Caitlin Todd was killed by Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill).
