Michael Parr shares honest reason he’s made ‘action-packed’ Emmerdale return as ‘traumatised’ Ross Barton

It’s been a busy six years for actor Michael Parr, ones that took him everywhere from LA to India, some of it during the Covid pandemic and writer’s strikes – he certainly hasn’t had much time to rest on his laurels since leaving Emmerdale!

Ross Barton is about to return with a bang in action-packed scenes, ones that Mike promised me, when we sat down for an exclusive interview for Metro, will be dramatic, edge-of-your seat episodes.

Here, Mike tells me what we will learn about Ross’ traumatic years away as well as opening up on how his life has changed, why he now avoids social media and his proudest life achievements.

How’s life been for you?

I’ve been really great the entire six years, not to say it’s not been full of ups and downs, but I feel like I’ve had four different lives since I left! After here I went to LA, I spent about a year and a half out there but half of it was the pandemic, I spent a lot of time in Morocco on a job, I was in India last year, I feel like I’ve had so many different lives since I left, it’s been great!

Not to say it’s not been hard – Covid put a dampener on the LA side, so I decided to move back to the UK, and then the writers’ strikes, keeping your head above the water through these periods was really quite difficult, but I managed to keep the ball rolling.

I was on a job in India, and I was saying to a cast member, I really want to be in a position where I’m turning down work, and then within the space of a week Emmerdale called, but I also had the option to go on tour with a play. I had to make a decision in terms of what I wanted to do, and it was the hardest decision of my life! Be careful what you wish for because turning people down was not the position I wanted to be in.

Having two options in this industry was such a fortunate position to be in, I feel really blessed.

What made you choose to return to Emmerdale?

I had played both characters before. I had been Ross and then for the play, it was Rita, Sue and Bob Too. We had done it in my hometown in Liverpool. Both have their positives, both have their drawbacks but ultimately, coming back to Emmerdale was a longer contract, it just meant I had a bit more chance of some security which, in this industry, is really hard to come across.

I wanted to do both jobs and we tried to see if schedules could work but it wasn’t going to. Ultimately, I decided to come back to what feels like home and that was Emmerdale.

How was the return sold to you? Were you told the storylines straight away?

It was tempting just to be back in the North! The play was a tour and as I approach 40, I wasn’t sure how I felt about being on the road and having to be in hotels all the time.

It would’ve been a load of fun but it was more the security aspect. Once I heard from Laura Shaw, what the storyline was going to be, I thought, that sounds like fun. They gave me quite an extensive look into where they wanted the storyline to go, and I was sold!

I made the decision and here we are.

What’s it like being back?

It feels like…you know when you’re having a dream…and maybe this is just me and my crazy brain…but sometimes you’re talking to someone in a dream and the face doesn’t match the personality of who you are talking to. It’s like the same but something is different about it, and you can’t quite put your finger on it.

I don’t know if it’s because we’ve got new cast members here, and obviously there’s loads of a new crew, and there’s also loads of familiar faces and people who haven’t left as well! It might actually be me – the last time I was here I was at the end of my 20s, and now I’m at the end of my 30s, maybe it’s just because I am in a different space as well.

It used to be about finishing work and living for the weekend, but now I want to get back in the house and be warm and cosy and look after myself more!

Had you kept in touch with people from Emmerdale?

I kept in touch with loads of people. It’s more like Instagram, brief little chats over there. I had only come back to the North to shoot The Long Shadow, that was the only time I had been back – it was in and out on that job.

I stayed round the corner from where I used to live, I didn’t get a chance to see anyone but the main people I’ve kept in touch with are the old Bartons – Quinny and Joe – my older and younger brothers – but they’re no longer here!

It’s not like I haven’t kept in touch with anybody, but everyone’s busy doing their jobs and I was trying to get a career off the ground.

Was it daunting to return?

The thing that was most daunting was moving back up to Leeds and getting straight back into the show. I hadn’t quite anticipated how much I had forgotten how fast the show moves, the amount of lines!

It takes a while to get into that line learning mind frame – I used to be able to learn lines the night before and I thought I could do still do that, but on my first day I thought I am having trouble learning one scene!

I started to panic, I thought, I can’t learn the lines! Once I calmed down and met with everyone, I got back into the swing of it and all the anxiety went away.

What can you say about Ross’ returning storyline? He’s straight in with the boxing and comes up against Billy

It’s a lot of action, a lot of fisticuffs! Obviously Ross has the scars on his face from the acid attack, but I feel like they spent more time on the other injuries on my face within the first month, because he’s been fighting with everyone he can get his hands on.

Ross is a unique character but a lot of the other characters don’t get a lot of the action he gets. Working with Jay, he’s a new character, we crossed paths briefly when I was starting but we never worked together. That’s been a really nice aspect. You can expect a lot of action, Ross putting his finger on peoples’ chests and knowing where to poke, him just being his usual lovable, horrible, manipulative self!

I read The Prince by Machiavelli, which is about how to manipulate the system and that’s kind of Ross’ angle. He doesn’t have wealth, he doesn’t have many allies, Ross has to play the game very well because really, he’s a lone wolf.

Did you get to do much of the actual boxing filming?

My background is more kickboxing but it does lend itself to these things. Fortunately, we were given some rehearsal time for Ross’ entrance where he’s doing the bare-knuckle boxing with Billy.

I was really fortunate I could pick up the choreography, we had a great choreographer come in and we actually developed some really sophisticated set pieces whereas usually, I don’t think we really get more than two or three punches thrown in a soap. There was a point where we thought, we’re really getting into it, I hope it makes the cut.

Hopefully it really looks like we know what we’re doing!

Has Ross changed since he’s been gone?

I think underneath it all, due to his rough start in life, being on the run, his relationship with his dad, his brother, his mum and dad and his girlfriend dying, he has suffered a lot of trauma. The same character is there, he’s a little bit more mature, he’s been through so many things – it’s the same but different.

Will we learn more about what Ross has been up to since he’s been away?

Yes, but not straight away. He left the show with Rebecca, there’s history there, the writers have 5 years of story time to come up with! Where was he, was he a good boy, what drama has he brought back with him, has he made an enemies?

Will Ross get straight into winding Charity and Mack up?

He sees them playing happy families and isn’t pleased about that one bit. His ego is very bruised by the fact there’s a new father figure in Moses’ life.

And also, is there still tension between Ross and Charity? They’re both menaces, there’s sexual chemistry there as well, it was always about trying to get one up on the other one.

Was it nice to work with Emma again?

It’s really fun! Emma is such an astute and sharp actress and Charity is a lot more wittier than  Ross, so he really has to up his game. I have to up my game working with Emma because she’s so on it and so wonderful. If I hadn’t done the work before I got onto set, I think she would’ve acted me off the screen! It’s just great working with people like that because they make you really up your game.

Soap is the job where you really have to be the most prepared before you walk onto set. Because our schedule is so tight and we’re doing so many scenes a day, if you’re not prepared you’re really going to get left behind on screen. You have to do the work long before you walk onto set.

How does it feel to know the fans are excited to see you back?

It’s great. It’s really lovely to know that many people care, and that many people appreciated what I did. I’m trying to renegotiate my relationship with social media, just because it’s quite addictive and sometimes I feel like my phone is in my hand all the time.

I am trying to stay away from it as much as possible but I can’t deny, when the post went out about Ross’ return, I saw the response and I can’t say I wasn’t overwhelmed and eternally grateful for everyone’s response.

But also, it adds a lot of pressure because I feel like I don’t want to let anybody down! It makes me up my game as well.

Is it important to discipline yourself when it comes to going online/social media?

I am a procrastinator by nature. I think a lot of creative people happen to be. It’s difficult – I don’t want to be ignorant to the things that are going on in the world, but sometimes I find the phone is overwhelming with the things you can see online, arguments you can find yourself getting into and the rabbit holes you can go down. I think looking after your mental health and looking at the closer world around you is beneficial to your mental health, that’s what I’m trying to do.

I don’t want to neglect anybody that’s supporting my career, I want to be interactive, it’s just about finding that balance.

I was born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s and early 00s, just before the internet really took off and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. I have cousins and siblings who are much younger, social media and being online is a hard place to navigate.

As beautiful as the world can be, it can also be a toxic place when you view it through the eyes of social media.

Have you always wanted to be an actor?

I was very fortunate that I did my first play when I was in year 6. I then went down a musical route, I’ve always been an actor. I have had other ambitions but acting was kind of my bread an butter. It’s something that’s always excited me and if you are fortunate, it gets to take you around the world.

I think travelling is so important and it helps you see the world through another lens. I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve had a family who have supported me and backed me, I’ve done operas, musicals, plays, films, but soap really is the thing that excites me a lot. Plays are great, btu after you’ve been doing them for 6 months and you’re on tour, it can get a little tedious, when you’re doing a drama, you might only do one scene a day, so the soap is the perfect thing for someone with my limited attention span to come in and really have to focus. I think this is where my personality thrives.

Are there any other ambitions you have?

I would love to do an American show with an American accent. Succession is my favourite show of all time, that is something that, when I watch it, I get blown away by it. It makes me want to work harder and work on the craft of acting.

In the 6 years I was off, I was still going to acting classes. I still go to improv classes when I can get down to London. I think when I’m not being paid to act, I’m paying to act. That’s how much I immerse myself in the career and the world, I really feel like you can lose it if you don’t use it.

I was in India last year, Morocco the time before that, I did a play in Liverpool, I’ve been lucky but I would love to do a Western.

What’s been your biggest achievement outside of acting?

I love that I still go to Muay Thai class. I train at a company in Leeds. In a sliding doors moment, I think I would’ve loved to have been a kickboxing coach and trained in gyms. I love the comradery of gyms, I love what it brings to mental health. There’s a lot of men out there struggling to have a male role model, and gyms can really bring that, so I’m proud I have kept my feet in that sport.

I like that I took the risk to go to America. I walked away from Emmerdale – I loved the character, I had a great wage, I had loads of friends up here but there was something inside of me that would’ve always asked what if?

I did ok, I kept my head above the water, but there was a few badly timed things I couldn’t control. I’m just proud of myself for keeping my head above the water – just being able to be an actor and not needing to take on another job, because I had bagged enough of them – that’s hard!

The money isn’t the same, the career has changed, streaming platforms and stuff, you have to be working a lot. I was very lucky and I’m very grateful.

Do you embrace the constant changes to our TV climate?

It’s strange – the world is changing and technology is adapting much quicker than we can adapt to. I don’t know if I believe this, but I’ve heard the way we used to watch TV is becoming outdated, and TV has become the new radio. But radio rebranded as podcasting, and is having the biggest resurgence ever. I think it’s down to the bosses and people higher up to work out what the best way is to watch TV.

People are on their phones all the time, they’ve got podcasts, YouTube, social media, it’s about how do we one, satisfy our current viewers and also, reach out to new audience members. Hollyoaks is taking a new approach to it, and I think everyone should keep a close eye on it because it can absolutely revolutionise TV.

It would be such a shame if we were to lose another show. Holby and Doctors, it’s not just losing half hour slots on TV, those jobs employ so many people. It has a negative effect and those people who lose their jobs, they go and look for more work and that’s what makes the industry more competitive.

It’s a really complicated thing and I’m not in a position to make much change! The world is changing fast and I think we need people on the ball who can predict where they think the nature of TV is going to go.

How do you wind down after a busy day filming?

I usually go to a Muay Thai gym class. Decompressing after work is quite a challenge, which I wasn’t anticipating. I’m quite an introvert by nature, but I find socialising quite hard – it takes a lot out of me so for filming, we’re talking all day! By the end I am usually pretty exhausted. Going to the gym and sauna, having some silence is really important.