Emmerdale’s Chris Coghill has confirmed he has previously appeared on the ITV soap before arriving as Robert Sugden’s secret boyfriend
Angie Quinn Screen Time Reporter
05:00, 14 Oct 2025
Emmerdale viewers were left in shock as Kev’s real identity was finally revealed (Image: ITV/Emmerdale)
Emmerdale’s Kev Towsend actor Chris Coghill has disclosed that he previously appeared on the ITV soap when he was just 17 years old.
Kev recently turned up unexpectedly in the village looking for his spouse, Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), after the couple met whilst incarcerated.
He remained imprisoned following an armed robbery, but owing to a terminal diagnosis, he was granted day release to see his partner Robert. Keen to end their relationship, Robert then went to see Kev in jail but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The inmate was subsequently thrilled to be given parole as he was reunited with Robert, who was frantic to keep his marriage hidden from Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), reports the Daily Star. Will Kev discover the truth?
Robert married Kev after meeting in prison
Speaking about joining the ITV drama as villain Kev, actor Chris Coghill told Leeds Live and other media outlets, confirming he is relishing his new part.
He said: “I’m having a really good time, I am thoroughly enjoying being here. It’s an absolutely lovely place to work, it’s a beautiful place to work, especially in the village. It’s just stunning and everybody is lovely.”
Chris then revealed he had previously featured on Emmerdale as a youngster in his debut acting job.
He added: “Weirdly, my first ever job was on Emmerdale, I was 17 years old, which is 33 years ago. But I have also done Coronation Street, I have done a lot. This is very different to EastEnders.”
Robert has failed to break up with Kev in Emmerdale (Image: ITV)
Prior to joining the ITV soap, Chris notably portrayed child abuser Tony King in the long-running BBC drama.
Tony was brought into the show in 2008 as Bianca Jackson’s (Patsy Palmer) partner, though he was secretly abusing her stepdaughter, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty).
The contentious storyline resulted in Chris being overlooked for certain parts, yet the actor remains proud that the hard-hitting plot made a real difference to some viewers’ lives.
He said: “It was so controversial and pretty ground-ground-breaking at the time. The reaction to that was pretty big.
Tony was dating Bianca in EastEnders (Image: BBC)
“People didn’t even want that to be on screen. People said it might get to the point where they couldn’t tell the difference between the character and you, but I didn’t really find that. People would be like, ‘You were really good in EastEnders’.”
Chris went on to reveal how the storyline empowered abuse victims to come forward, adding: “It was afterwards when casting directors and so on would say, ‘We can’t really have him playing a romantic lead for a bit’.
“But one of the reactions to that was that five or six people actually went to prison because people saw that storyline and went, ‘That happened to me,’ and went to the police. As an actor, you don’t really change people’s lives, but that sort of did.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX
