ITV Emmerdale favorite Tony Audenshaw has one of the gorgeous backstories in soapland — from dealing with homelessness to turning into a family identify and even a Guinness World Document holder. The actor, 59, is beloved by thousands and thousands of followers as Bob Hope, the cheeky café proprietor he has performed since 2000. However lengthy earlier than discovering fame within the Dales, Tony endured powerful instances attempting to make ends meet whereas chasing his dream of performing.
Born in Denton, Lancashire, on January 13, 1965, Tony admitted that in his early years, he typically couldn’t afford lodging when working in London. He revealed he generally resorted to sleeping in his automotive after jobs: “There have been events the place I didn’t have sufficient for a B&B, so I simply parked up and tried to get some kip. It wasn’t straightforward, however you do what you need to do.” He mentioned on Free Girls. “I used to work at Thorpe Park, the theme park. I was the Thorpe Park Rangers and do the voices.
“Up North, issues are less expensive. I got here down right here within the 80s, and it was £70 for a B&B. If I used to be down for 5 nights I might sleep within the automotive, as a result of I did not have a lot cash coming in.”
Though Tony spent virtually one week cramped in his four-wheeler, he alternated days within the automotive as a result of he discovered it exhausting to perform.
The cleaning soap star defined: “I might by no means do it two nights on the trot since you could not actually perform properly.
“It was Monday in a B&B, Tuesday within the automotive – the belongings you noticed in these automotive parks, torches within the window.”
That perseverance paid off. After an early stint in Brookside within the mid-90s, he was first seen on Emmerdale in 1996 in a minor position earlier than touchdown the a part of Bob Hope 4 years later.
Since then, he has clocked up greater than 2,500 episodes, making him one of many cleaning soap’s longest-serving solid members.
Away from the Yorkshire set, Tony is famend for his love of operating.
In 2010, he entered the London Marathon in an enormous child outfit — and crossed the road in simply 3 hours and 13 minutes.
The exceptional time earned him a Guinness World Document for the quickest marathon dressed as a child.
Whereas that report has since been damaged, Tony stays a well-recognized face at charity occasions and operating golf equipment throughout the nation. He has additionally fronted a operating podcast and repeatedly makes use of his platform to boost funds for causes near his coronary heart.
His non-public life has introduced each pleasure and tragedy. Tony married his spouse Ruth in 1993, and the couple had two youngsters, George and Emily.
In 2017, Ruth died after being recognized with pancreatic most cancers. Tony has since spoken movingly about her battle and has devoted a lot of his fundraising work to most cancers charities in her reminiscence.
On display, his alter ego Bob has been on the centre of a few of Emmerdale’s most dramatic and hilarious storylines, together with when Bob misplaced his spouse Viv within the put up workplace hearth, to his secret affair with Laurel.
