Emmerdale stars Joe Gill and Anthony Quinlan have said that they have always looked forward to finding out more about their soap characters’ mum.

Joe plays Finn Barton and Anthony is his brother Pete in the ITV soap, and together with their brother Ross (Michael Parr) they are set for new year drama when Finn decides he wants to meet his estranged mother.

Early in January, Finn will be shocked to find that vicar Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) has an address for his mum Emma, to be played by Gillian Kearney, but the discovery will have repercussions for his family who don’t all agree on whether she should be back in their lives.

Emmerdale Joe Gill
Finn Barton is eager to find his mum (ITV)

Joe said he had always hoped the Bartons’ mum would turn up in the village: “It was a question I thought of as soon as we’d been cast. Coming into the show you find out who you’re coming in with and I went, ‘Oh right, so we’ve not got a mum?’

“At Finn’s birthday in the summer, you saw a video tape with an argument between them and that gives even more incentive to find out who this person is.

Emmerdale Anthony Quinlan
Will Pete Barton be pleased to see his mum again? (ITV)

“As Joe, I’ve wanted the mum to be in the show for a while to see what it brings to the table and what unfolds.”

But Anthony warned: “All the boys have got strong feelings on whether they want her about or not. Finn wants to know who his mum is and what her reasons were for leaving.”