Emmerdale actor Chris Coghill has teased that his character Kev Townsend is 'very torn' as someone from his past shows up in the village, threatening his chance to bond with his son Lewis.
Kev's Return and Reunion with Lewis
Chris Coghill first entered the ITV soap as Kev Townsend to track down his secret prison husband, Robert Sugden. Things didn't end well for Kev as Robert chose Aaron Dingle, but viewers hoped Kev would come back after it was revealed he was Lewis Barton's biological father.
Kev recently returned after Ross Barton hunted him down, finding him selling his famous lemon drizzle cake in a van on the side of the road. Ross pleaded with Kev to help get Lewis back, who had been kidnapped by Kev's ex-partner Kylie in an act of revenge. Kev eventually agreed and decided to tell Lewis the truth. Breaking into his own rendition of Boyzone's 'Father and Son', Kev told Lewis he was his father, leaving a shocked Lewis and Vinny.
Since then, he has been working hard to get Lewis to want to explore their relationship, hoping to show up as a father for him and turn his life around. However, not everyone has been on his side, as Nicola King and Ross Barton have been desperately trying to keep him away from Lewis, worried that he'll disappoint him. They even staged a robbery at the café, aiming to frame Kev. Overwhelmed, Lewis said he didn't want someone like him in his life.
Claudette's Advice and Steve's Arrival
Next week, Claudette convinces Kev to keep his café job. Nicola, secretly happy he quit, tries to persuade Vinny, Mandy, and Lewis it's for the best, but Kev surprises everyone by asking for his job back. Learning Lewis's birthday is near, Kev attempts to make up for missed years with gifts, but his overeager approach unsettles Lewis, much to Ross's concern. Kev's stress mounts when his old friend Steve suddenly arrives, and he warns him not to jeopardise his new life.
Chris Coghill on Kev's Dilemma
In an interview shared with the Manchester Evening News, touching on his relationship with Lewis, Chris admitted: 'It's his chance to connect with Lewis and see him every day and also integrate himself into the village a bit more because he's decided that he wants to stay.'
With his old friend Steve turning up, Chris added: 'Steve and Kev are like two sides of the same coin. Steve is basically Kev before he found out about Lewis. They grew up together, they are as thick as thieves. If it weren't for Lewis, I think he would fall back in with him pretty much straight away. For Steve, it's the same as it always was and he expects it to be just like it always has been, they'd go on the rob, a crime duo, even though they've not seen each other for years. It's one of those friendships that just falls back into routine but Kev is trying his very best not to do that. So Steve turning up at this point as he's started to connect with Lewis is an absolute nightmare.'
When asked if Kev could be tempted back into a life of crime, the actor responded: 'He tries very hard and Kev is very torn,' before adding that Steve will cause trouble for other residents. Chris concluded: 'He's absolutely 100% determined to bond with Lewis and be a decent dad to Lewis. He will stop at nothing to do so.'
