Ex-Emmerdale star shares how plans for Al Chapman changed
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Former Emmerdale star Michael Wildman has revealed he managed to truly make his character on the soap his own, and stick around for longer than originally planned.
Known for the role of villain Al Chapman, the actor explained he was initially only supposed to star in the ITV series for six months.
As fans know, Wildman played the character for a much longer three-and-a-half-year stint, prior to his exit in late 2022.
"Luckily, producers and writers allowed me to have the freedom to really establish Al in a short period of time," Wildman told Kat Orman on BBC Radio Oxford.
Related: Emmerdale's Esther is rushed to hospital in worrying scenes
"I was only meant to be there for about six months," he continued, saying that his character's stay in the Dales was prolonged as "he'd just kept getting into trouble".
Asking about whether he misses his soap days, Wildman admitted he was lucky to bag the opportunity to be on a big show.
"I do miss it. Those jobs are jobs which don't come around very often," he said.
"Obviously, everything comes to an end. It came to an end for the right time for me and the producers," he then added, saying that Al would've needed to change his ways if he were to be still around.
Related: Emmerdale's Mack warned by Chloe over baby secret
"The only way he could stay there was if you change the character, if you make him nice," the actor said.
"If you do that, then he's not Al Chapman anymore."
Chapman bowed out of the soap in November last year, when Al was tragically shot dead by Cain's son Kyle during a showdown between the two men.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
You Might Also Like
