Robert Sugden’s Fate And What Happens Next
Robert Sugden first made an appearance in the British soap opera Emmerdale on April 22, 1986, in Episode 1042.
Series of appearances, events, turns, and twists later, Robert Sugden has taken on the role of antagonists and is disliked by many (he got shot by Ross!).
What happens to Robert Sugden in the latest episode? What will it be moving forward? Is it the end of Robert Sugden in Emmerdale?
What Really Happened To Robert Sugden?
Robert Sugden landed himself in trouble when he took things into his hands over his sister Victoria Barton’s rapist.
The rapist Lee Posner and his mum tortured Victoria after Lee assaulted her. Lee even demanded her to pay him off for leaving her and her unborn baby.
What’s worse is that after getting £20,000 from Victoria, he threatened to rape another woman!
Horribly, Lee also said,
“Sometimes no doesn’t mean, does it? It just adds to it. I mean, is it really rape when they love it as much as your sister did?
“And I even gave her a nice souvenir to remember me by. Bye, Uncle Robert.”
The act is nothing short of vile and it only makes sense that Robert was outrageous!
Image Source/The Sun
What’s worse, upon finding out that Victoria has decided to leave the village once and for all after her assault, Robert was heartbroken.
According to the Emmerdale’s producer, Laura Shaw,
“Victoria decides the only way to get away is to leave the village forever. Robert is devastated and doesn’t want her to go.
“Lee piles the pressure on her and Robert has been pushed to the edge and he is on a mission to get his revenge on Lee even if it kills him.”
He Then Decided To Seek Revenge…
Image Source/The Sun
In an attempt to revenge Lee, Robert took a few wrong turns that gravely backfired.
He printed posters with big bold letters displaying Lee as a rapist.
Unfortunately, things got messy when he forgot that the posters would also adversely affect Victoria.
Next, in his quest to gather evidence against Lee to prove him wrong, he even endangered Dawn’s life.
After all was said and done, Robert hit Lee brutally with a shovel!
What Is The Aftermath Of The Incident?
Lee went into coma and soon after, died leaving Robert facing a murder charge!
Instinctively, Robert Sugden and his husband Aaron Dingle cooked up a plan to run away from the authorities to lead a life together.
Unfortunately, realisation sunk in and Robert couldn’t leave Aaron’s little sister Liv Flaherty behind. So, he handed himself in.
Robert was sentenced to life imprisonment and was to spend a minimum of 14 years in prison despite pleading guilty earlier.
The last exchange between Robert and Aaron (who had his fair share of abuse and unhappiness through his father, Chas) was heartbreaking!
Aaron: “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Promise me you’ll never forget.”
Robert: “Goodbye, Aaron.”
This marked the end of Robert and Aaron’s hopes to be together…
Another Shocking News!
Aaron Dingle and Robert’s family received another terrible news from Chas Dingle.
Apparently, Robert has blocked all opportunities for Aaron and her to visit him at the prison on the Isle of Wight.
Aaron and Victoria were left devastated.
How Does Victoria Feels About The Incident?
Victoria wanted to forget about the rape and Lee Posner. She just wanted to move on with her life. Alas, Robert took off to revenge Lee and killed him. As a result, she had to face the repercussions too.
Despite Robert causing more trouble for her and prevented her from getting out of the horrible incident, she stood by him to support him.
She cooked up a ‘self-defense story’ to try to save Robert from prison which obviously, did not succeed in saving Robert.
The End Of The Robert Sugden Saga
Image Source/Celebrities Major
Emmerdale fans witnessed the end of a saga as Jack Sugden said his final goodbye to his family and to them as well.
The actor who played Robert Sugden, actor Ryan Hawley took over the role in 2014 from Karl Davies. Being the eldest son of the late legendary Jack Sugden, Robert made his impact thoroughly throughout the show.
About leaving the show, he said:
“I will miss the show massively, it has been a huge part of my life.
“I love working here, it’s very emotional to be leaving.”
What Did His On-Screen Husband Say About Ryan?
According to Miller:
“Ryan and I have a level of trust and understanding I’ll miss, it’s been full-on but we work so well together.
“We had great chemistry right from our first scene and the producers must have seen that. It’s weird he’s going but I guess everything good comes to an end.
“It won’t be the same without him, but the show goes on so to speak. And it will be interesting to see what happens with Aaron still in the village.”
Well, Emmerdale spoilers will take care of that, sooner than later!
Meanwhile, the show’s producer Kate Brooks explained that:
“When a big character like Robert exits, there is a huge story potential in terms of kicking off the next chapter for Aaron. Robert leaving is going to hit him hard.
“He is the love of Aaron’s life whom he adored and has kept Aaron anchored and on the straight and narrow.
“So when the rug is pulled from underneath his feet, it really affects Aaron and it makes him behave in ways that he wouldn’t normally.
“I think we’re going to see the Aaron of old before Robert came along and straightened him out. We have loads of great stuff for Danny and Isobel, as they try to navigate their world without Robert in it.”
Robert Sugden In Real Life
As Robert leaves the show, the actor who played Robert Sugden, Ryan Hawley is brought back into the spotlight.
Image Source/Birmingham Mail
Ryan is an Arabian-born English actor. He spent his childhood in Sheffield and UAE as he followed his parents and their work.
Fun Fact: He wanted to be a film director, but changed his mind upon realising the arduous responsibility that comes with the job.
He said:
“Then I got to 16 when I was doing A-level media studies and school plays, and I found being a director would be a very difficult thing to do.
“It’s long hours and a lot of sitting in a basement in an edit suite. I found that to be a very arduous process and didn’t think I was best suited.”
So, he marched his way to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Starting his career in 2007 after honing his acting skills, he debuted in Life Is Wild as Tim. He also appeared in a Russian-British horror film as Andy Thatcher.
In 2010, he acted in two television films which are The Wyoming Story and Rules of Love.
Ryan Hawley’s Theatre Venture…
Image Source/Digital Spy
In addition to series, short films, and films, Ryan also ventured into theatres.
He participated in The History Boys, Letting in Air, and You May Go Now at Wyndhams Theatre, Old Red Lion Theatre, and Finborough Theatre respectively.
However, his breakthrough came through his appearance in ITV’s Emmerdale.
More interestingly, he was nominated for several awards such as “Best Villain” and “Best Actor” at The British Soap Awards for his role as Robert Sugden.
The Awards He Won For His Fine Performace in Emmerdale!
Out of the 13 awards he was nominated for at various awards functions, he won six of them and here is the list!
Image Source/The Sun
The awards are Best Moment 2014 (Robert Kisses Aaron) at the All About Soap Awards 2015, Best Newcomer at the Inside Soap Awards 2015, Best Partnership (with Danny Miller) at the Inside Soap Awards 2016, Best Soap Actor at the TV Choice Awards 2017, Best Soap Relationship (with Danny Miller) at the Digital Spy Readers’ Awards 2017, and Soap Actor at TRIC Awards 2018.
What Does Ryan Hawley Thinks Of Robert Sugden?
Now, this should be interesting!
Here is what Ryan feels about Robert after he pushes Katie to her death.
“He’s really in a situation that he can’t handle. It’s out of control.
“All of his lies and deceitfulness to his fiancée and these risks have all caught up with him now.”
What about the plots revolving around Robert Sugden?
“It’s incredibly fun to play with high stakes and to have a lot going on.
“You’ve got all these different plots going on and these schemes. It could all change at a drop of the hat or be destroyed. It’s very risky what Robert does.”
How did his family react to Emmerdale and his role in it?
“I couldn’t watch Emmerdale with my family.
“My mum wouldn’t let me speak, in case I accidentally revealed the plots!”
Apparently, his whole family loved the series, especially his late grandmother.
“She watched it right from the start.
“Sadly she passed away two weeks before I came on screen. She was terminally ill, so it was kind of a relief for her to be relieved, but she would have been really proud to see me a part of something she held so dearly.”
Well, here’s a farewell to Robert Sugden and cheers to Ryan Hawley!
