Emmerdale’s Tony Audenshaw is known to millions as the lovable Bob Hope, he first appeared in Emmerdale back in 2000, with the actor appearing in over 2,500 episodes since then.
Bob was introduced as a hosiery salesman and love interest for Viv Windsor, played by Deena Payne. The characters later married, although initially co-star Deena wasn’t overly keen on Tony playing the part.
Viv was killed off back in 2011 and down the years Bob's character has been involved in a number of big stories and romances.
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One memorable storyline he was involved in not too long ago involved him getting steamy in the Woolpack while stripping off and now actor Tony has revealed he shed an impressive two stone for the role.
During Emmerdale's 50th anniversary documentary on Sunday, October 16 the soap legend revealed that he felt pressured into slimming down before baring all for the steamy episode, admitting that he felt a little self conscious.
He said: "Ugh, I remember being in the canteen and somebody coming up and saying 'for this stripping storyline' and you're like 'oh, you don't know what shape you're going to be'. You've got like three weeks to try and lose two stone."
However, he went on to say that by the time the episode aired six weeks later he had almost forgotten all about it. The scene saw bob whipping his top off as he danced around the pub in name of somebodies hen do.
The scene even saw him whip off his trousers, prompting a somewhat flustered Charity Dingle to declare: "I didn't know he had it in him" while his daughter Carly hope was less than impressed, she said: "I'm so embarrassed."
Tony is well-and-truly part of the furniture in the ITV soap, he's been through lots of highs and lows over the years and has built an army of fans.
Off-screen, Tony, has discussed the challenges he faced starting out as he tried to break into the world of entertainment. Tony has revealed he previously slept rough in his car.
“I worked at Thorpe Park,” Tony said. “It was expensive for a B&B down south, so if I was down for five nights, I’d sleep in the car park.”
The star has also spoken about what he’d liked to have done if he didn’t eventually find success as an actor. Tony is a keen birdwatcher and hoped to follow his love of that pastime - if acting didn’t work out.
“I go to bird hides and reserves,” Tony explained. “I wanted to work at a nature reserve for years. But my science marks weren’t that good.”
You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars. There you'll also find our Emmerdale features and news about the show's 50th anniversary plans.
