Emmerdale star Simon Haines has exclusively revealed that some of his scenes were ‘cut’ at the last minute just as he was about to begin shooting.
14:10, 24 Jul 2025Updated 14:12, 24 Jul 2025
Simon Haines arrived in Emmerdale as Owen Michaels in July, but he has already been killed off(Image: ITV)
Emmerdale star Simon Haines says some of his scenes were ‘cut’ before he had even started filming.
The actor made three appearances on the ITV soap in July as the character of Owen Michaels and was seen on a date with Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), but things took a sour turn when he spiked Robert’s drink and John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) intervened.
Just days later, paramedic John found Owen unresponsive at his home and instead of choosing to save him, left him to die so he could write up a note on his laptop framing him for the murder of Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).
Simon always knew his stay in the Dales was going to be short, but has now revealed that there were actually more scenes planned, explaining exclusively to the Mirror : “Yeah, we talked about it in advance with casting. Of course, the scripts always change. I think there was more Owen stuff in there, but by the time we came to do the first day shooting, it had been taken out.
“I’m not sure, who knows? Probably not a second date with Robert but yeah we always knew it was going to be a sort of quick, impactful mini villain storyline.”
Simon Haines always knew his stay in Emmerdale was going to be short, but has admitted that even more scenes were cut before he began shooting(Image: ITV)
However, Simon was ultimately happy with his short run on the show, and explained: “It felt really good because I knew that I had other projects that were coming up and was sort of limited with availability and it was just a great chance to be a part of something so iconic, have a big impact and then get out.”
Fans are now convinced that they know how killer John will get his comeuppance, and even Simon thinks John ‘tying himself in knots’ now that things are starting to come to a head, but is not convinced that a return for himself is outside of the realms of possibility in soapland, as he teased: “I think so. I think John is tying himself in knots now. Ollie, on my last day, was like ‘You never know, there could be a twin brother or something…’ So, you never know, that might not be the last you see of me.”
Fans know that John has been messaging someone at a helpline to offload about his guilt, with him struggling over his actions. What we found out on Wednesday was that the person he’s been messaging is none other than village vet Paddy Kirk.
Paddy happens to be the father figure of John’s husband Aaron Dingle. Fans are now convinced John will let slip everything he has done, after Paddy asked John, unaware it was him, if he wanted to speak on the phone.
The character of Owen was killed off after just three appearances at the hands of John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth)(Image: ITV)
If Paddy is told anything by John and he recognises his voice, could it be game over for the killer? Fans certainly think so, wondering if Paddy will work it all out and expose the killer. One viewer posted online: “Did everybody see that? Will Paddy put 2+2 together & eventually figure out that he’s talking to John on the Guardians helpline?”
Another fan said: “Paddy being able to be the one who exposes John is actually a hilarious idea.” A third viewer added: “Ahh Paddy is going to be the one to catch John out.”
Another fan echoed this theory, writing: “Ooo Paddy put it all together mate!” Meanwhile other fans hoped he might team up with John’s brother Robert, who is already onto John. One fan suggested more than one character could now team up to take down John. They said: “Robert, Paddy , Cain and Tracy VS John.”
But other fans were worried about this latest development, sure it could leave Paddy in danger. If John was to find out Paddy was the person he was messaging, surely he would have to cover his tracks if he did confess to a crime. Fans wondered if Paddy would sadly be John’s next victim.
One viewer commented: “Don’t tell me! Paddy’s next,” as another said: “OMG Paddy,” along with a GIF teasing danger ahead for him.A further post said: “If John hurts a hair on Paddy’s head, I will riot. He needs to get caught already.” Viewers will have to stay tuned to find out if the pair speak and end up realising who each other is, and what this could mean for John.
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