Emmerdale’s Matthew Wolfenden says ‘it was meant to be’ in rare insight into meeting partner months after marriage split

HE’S been disconnected our tv screens for conscionable implicit a twelvemonth aft spending 18 years successful ITV soap Emmerdale arsenic loveable ladies antheral David Metcalfe.

But now, arsenic histrion Matthew Wolfenden, 44, returns to our surviving rooms arsenic a scheming cheery conman successful Channel 5 smash deed play The Good Ship Murder, helium admits helium was a small tense up of filming.

And though helium knew the portion would beryllium perfect, due to the fact that it was truthful antithetic to his much-loved soap character, it besides felt weird playing idiosyncratic else.

In an exclusive interrogation with The Sun Online, dad-of-three Matthew, who happily co-parents his 3 sons with ex-wife Charley Webb, 36, said: “A batch of my friends emotion the amusement truthful erstwhile I got a telephone saying they wanted maine for the relation of a cheery conman, I thought perfect! I inactive had to bash a small self-tape.

"I’d played David for 18 years truthful to past play a antithetic character, it did consciousness a small spot weird. It was truthful acold from the quality of David successful Emmerdale, evidently helium was this cheeky chappy, the lovable shopkeeper and past each of a abrupt I’m playing this duplicitous conman, it was large but precise nerve-racking.”

During his clip astatine Emmerdale, Matthew’s hunky quality made his mode done beauteous overmuch astir of the women successful village.

So erstwhile helium discovered that his quality Nathan would beryllium sharing a passionate buss with the ship’s amusement manager Colin Smallwood, played by chap soap prima Ross Adams, 40, helium realised it would beryllium his archetypal ever cheery smooch.

Speaking astir filming the kissing country helium said: “I deliberation we were some a spot tense for this large scene. Not lone did it extremity with the buss but it was a truly agelong scene.

"We were filming successful Malta successful a edifice that was mocked up to look similar we were connected the vessel and it was opening to the public, truthful clip was of an essence. It was bully amusive but besides incredibly nerve-racking.

“It was my archetypal cheery buss ever! I’d ne'er had a cheery buss connected signifier erstwhile I was doing theatre earlier joining Emmerdale. And evidently during my 18 years connected Emmerdale David worked his mode done kissing astir of the girls successful the village.

"It was absorbing and exciting. I’d heard an interrogation with James Sutton, who has played John-Paul McQueen successful Hollyoaks for years, and helium was asked ’as a consecutive man, what’s it similar playing a cheery quality each these years and kissing each this men? He said, good it’s conscionable similar kissing a pistillate but hairier! I was like, yes, determination we go, that’s a truly bully explanation.”

Matthew decided to permission Emmerdale successful the summer of 2023 aft being offered the starring relation of Buddy successful an eight-week tally of Elf the philharmonic successful London’s West End.

He spoke to bosses astir taking a interruption but the soap’s strict ‘no panto rule’ meant helium had to take betwixt the two.

He explains: “The occupation is they don’t fto radical retired astatine Christmas to bash panto, due to the fact that their reasoning is if we near 1 idiosyncratic out, we’ve got to unfastened it up to everyone and we could suffer fractional our formed astatine Christmas.

"Not that Elf was a pantomime, it was a large West End musical, but it was implicit panto play and they said if we acceptable a precedence to fto you retired for 3 months to bash that we've got to fto different radical retired too. And I perfectly understood that.

"My declaration was coming to an extremity and I had this large determination to make, bash I permission an 18 twelvemonth occupation to bash an 8 week show? When you look back, successful hindsight, to permission a good paid occupation to spell and bash an 8 week tally is simply a small crazy.

"I’m 44 now, I was 43 astatine the clip and I thought if I don’t bash it present past I’ll ne'er bash it. And luckily, John Whiston, the large brag astatine Emmerdale, wrote maine a beauteous email saying ‘Look, we’re not going to termination you disconnected that is not maine saying you tin travel back’ evidently they can’t accidental that, but the doorway volition beryllium near unfastened for the quality of David, which was precise nice.

"It does springiness you that option, you ne'er know, I mightiness spell knocking connected the doorway and accidental ‘Can I travel backmost please’ it’s specified a large spot to work. It’s connected my doorstep and it’s a large spot to enactment and the radical are fantastic. I perfectly adored it and it had thing to bash with the information that I wasn't enjoying it anymore, it was conscionable that I wanted to spell retired and dispersed my wings and bash immoderate much philharmonic theatre.

"When I got the portion of David, I’d been successful the West End for four, astir 5 years, doing philharmonic theatre and I loved it. Then the portion of David successful Emmerdale came up for 3 months and I thought large I’ll spell spot my mum and dada for a spot and past caput backmost down to London to bash much philharmonic theatre.

"Three months turned into six months and past 18 years aboriginal I was inactive there! It was ever a happening for maine that I wanted to spell backmost to philharmonic theatre, oregon bash immoderate plays. So I spot the bullet.”

A NEW FUTURE

Matthew met his ex-wife Charley, who played Debbie Dingle, connected the acceptable of Emmerdale. They person 3 sons Buster, 14, Bowie, 9 and five-year-old Ace, five.

The mates divided towards the extremity of his clip connected the soap, which the erstwhile mates were navigating successful backstage earlier announcing their break-up immoderate months later.

His determination to wound the slug and permission Emmerdale besides led to him uncovering emotion with caller woman Heather Scott-Martin, which helium believes was meant to be.

Matthew said: “I met Heather doing Elf. Me and Charley had been separated for a fewer months and past Heather was the creation skipper connected Elf, she’s a choreographer and a dancer.

"She’d besides precocious separated from her semipermanent parter astir the aforesaid clip maine and Charley had separated truthful we benignant of had this communal bond.

"All the formed utilized to spell retired for drinks and worldly and we’d extremity up sitting unneurotic and chatting astir relationships and things that had happened, and that’s however we started chatting. We’d beryllium the past ones successful the pub inactive chatting, it was astir similar it was meant to be, that we recovered each other.”

Matthew and Charley walk 1 week connected and 1 week disconnected co-parenting their 3 children. And though Heather spends a batch of clip successful London for work, the boys adore her.

Matthew said: “What we do, we divided the week. I’ll person the kids for a week and past Charley volition person them for a week, and it works truly well.

FRIENDLY EXES

"Obviously it’s a week connected and week disconnected basis, we’re inactive truly bully friends and the kids are dormant happy. It’s moving that way, alternatively than 1 genitor having the kids for the bulk of clip and the different genitor seeing them astatine the weekend, that’s not what we wanted to do.

"We wanted to effort and support it that we person them for a afloat week and it’s bully for the kids arsenic well, they get a afloat week with each parent. It’s moving truly well.

“Heather sees the boys and she’s large with them. Charley is truly blessed astir it and they emotion Heather. She’s a dancer and is ever mucking astir with them, getting connected the trampoline.

"I hardly spot her erstwhile we’re astir the kids due to the fact that she’s ever retired doing thing with them.

"Me and Heather person lone been unneurotic for the past twelvemonth oregon truthful and it’s inactive precise aboriginal days. We get connected truly well, she’s up and down to London, she’s choreographing a batch down there, I went to spot her this weekend, she’s backmost next week.

"It’s going truly good and we’re precise happy. It was similar we were meant to find each different due to the fact that we were some going done a spot of a unsmooth clip aft separating from agelong word partners it was meant to be.”

Matthew volition beryllium watching his television comeback time nighttime and helium can’t hold for viewers to spot him playing a villain.

He said: “I anticipation everyone thinks it’s a bully episode. It was truthful bully to film and there's a large twist astatine the end. It’s specified a superb amusement and doesn’t instrumentality itself excessively earnestly which is great.

"It’s similar Midsomer Murders connected a cruise ship! It was truthful bully having a cameo role, I did deliberation if lone I’d got a main part, I could person gone a cruise ship, got the kids connected there.”

So what’s adjacent for Matthew? He said: “I truly really privation to bash a play. I’ve done tons of philharmonic theatre erstwhile I was successful my 20s, and evidently I did Elf past year, but I’ve ne'er done a consecutive play. It’s thing I truly privation to do. We volition see.

"There’s tons of superb worldly going connected successful Leeds, astatine the Playhouse, a batch of large bluish theatres, Manchester Exchange and Bolton Octagon, each these large bluish theatres that are putting connected immoderate implicit superb stuff.

"That would beryllium a dream, enactment up northbound and bash a play. I’ve had a fewer conversations astir immoderate bully much TV worldly but we volition person to hold and see.”

Matthew volition impermanent prima successful this week's occurrence of The Good Ship Murder connected Friday nighttime connected Channel 5 astatine 7pm.