Emmerdale actor Ryan Hawley targeted with homophobic abuse over character’s storyline

The actor plays Robert Sugden

Published 5th Apr 2016

Actor Ryan Hawly has spoken out about the homophobic abuse he’s faced for playing a gay man in Emmerdale.

Ryan, who plays Robert Sugden in the soap, has admitted he was targeted over the storyline with co-star Danny Miller, who plays his on-screen boyfriend Aaron Livesy.

Emmerdale | © ITV Pictures

In a recent interview Ryan said “Unfortunately there was an incident where there were a few people who were a bit kind of homophobic towards me”

The actor went on to say, “I’m not gay in real life and it wasn’t really an attack on me as a person, but it was quite upsetting that people felt that way.”

Meanwhile Danny has been speaking about upcoming spoilers for the soap, admitting fans of the couple are in for a real treat in the coming weeks.

Danny said “I don’t know if they’re going to be happy forever, but it’s certainly a big step. There may be light at the end of the tunnel.”

Emmerdale | © ITV

The 25-year-old went on to speak about his on-screen boyfriend’s character saying “Ryan Hawley has been here 18 months now and it’s crazy how fast the time has gone. I could never imagine anyone else playing Robert now. He’s done a great job with the character and I’ve enjoyed watching us develop.”

You can see how their relationship plays out on Emmerdale on weekdays at 7pm.