Dales boss: 'Ryan has a long way to go'

Emmerdale's series producer Gavin Blyth has reaffirmed his intention to further explore James Sutton's character Ryan Lamb in the months ahead.

Former Hollyoaks star Sutton was one of Blyth's first signings after he took office at the Yorkshire soap last year, but some of the actor's fans have suggested that he is not receiving enough storylines.

Responding to viewers' concerns, Blyth told DS: "James loves everything we've given him and to be fair, he's barely been off screen since he came in. Ryan's nearly slept with his sister and has suffered the loss of his father, having discovered that his father wasn't dead in the first place. He's been pretty central!

"Everybody takes their turn at the centre of the show and across autumn and winter, he'll be very much back there. We'll see the underbelly of Ryan in a way that we've not seen before in terms of revelations and story payoffs.

"At the same time, both James and Ryan have been here for about a year and they have to settle in as an everyday character of the village. It can't all be full-on Ryan episode after episode. There's a long way to go with Ryan still anyway. James is with us for a long time - his journey's barely begun."

Blyth has previously named Sutton as a key part of Emmerdale's "new direction" and praised the "universal and grounded" nature of his alter ego.

> Click here to read our interview with Gavin Blyth
> Click here to read more from Gavin Blyth in Soap Scoop