Thornton won the role of John, who was introduced to Emmerdale along with his family as part of an overhaul of the show by the series producer Gavin Blyth.

However, John shared a kiss with Eve Jenson (Suzanne Shaw) and two years later Moira had an affair with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).

[1] Kris Green of Digital Spy reported the show's series producer, Gavin Blyth was introducing the new family as part of an ongoing reinvention of the soap.

"[7]Upon announcement of his casting, John was described as being a principled, ambitious farmer, who is trying to run a business and keep an eye on his family at the same time.

[3] Thornton told a Yorkshire Post reporter that while John was a "laid-back family man", viewers could expect fireworks and feuds from him.

[9] While Kate Woodward of Inside Soap branded him "ruggedly handsome" and said he wanted to create a happy home for his family.

[12] Robb stated that John and Moira had a lot of affection for each other, while a writer for ITV branded them a "striking yet down-to-earth couple".

[1][14] During an interview with Kris Green of Digital Spy, Thornton said John and Moira had a lot of fun in their youth and there had often been hints about their party lifestyle on screen.

[5] During a feature of soap opera's longest marriages in 2010, Kate Woodward and Sarah Ellis stated that John and Moira had been married for twenty years.

[12] The writers added that as a couple, John and Moira had been solid and showed an easy attitude to keeping their family on an even keel.

[15] Thornton said he was worried the writers were going to break John and Moira up and Robb said if the characters were to split, they would find it hard to live without each other.

[16] Of why Moira puts her marriage in jeopardy, Robb revealed "She still loves John, but she feels isolated and neglected because he's stopped including her in the finances of the new business.

[18] Speaking to Anne Richardson of Inside Soap, Thornton said John is shocked and heartbroken when Moira confirms she did have an affair.

[18] Allison Jones, writing for Inside Soap said John does not allow Moira to wallow in self-pity and he reminds her she was the one who threw their marriage away.

Violence erupts as the men have a vicious fight this fortnight – and when John is discovered fleeing from the crime scene with blood on his hands, it looks like an open-and-shut case!

[25] In an interview with What's on TV, Shaw said Eve developed a big crush on John and because they had a few things in common, it made her hopeful that he was interested in her.

[26] Thornton told Inside Soap's Katy Moon that John was so secure in his relationship with Moira that he felt Eve was not a threat, so he did not put up any barriers.

Thornton agreed and said it was a stupid thing that men tend to do, he cannot keep his mouth shut despite the problem being a family secret.

[27] Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) later winds John up about working with Eve on the farm and does not fix his land rover properly as a joke.

[30] Thornton later told Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy that it had been a difficult decision to leave the serial, but he had decided at the beginning he would just do three years.

[29] Thornton revealed that he thought the storyline was "brilliant" and stated "As I learned more, I discovered that the scale of John's departure was going to be huge, and that the amount of money they were spending was massive.

[29] Thornton commented that things would become "tricky" for the Barton family without John, but thought his exit would open up "brilliant opportunities" for Moira.

When Rodney Blackstock (Patrick Mower) accidentally leaves his van's brakes off, it begins rolling through the village towards the shop.

John tries to help Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller) stop it, but it crashes into the shop trapping three of the village residents.

He ends up telling her about Holly's drug problems and when he gives her a lift home, John and Eve share a kiss, which Cain Dingle witnesses.

When Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) reveals that some ketamine has gone missing from her bag, John accuses Holly of taking it, but fails to find anything during a search of her room.

She eventually returns home and John and Moira decide to lock Holly her in her room, to stop her taking anymore drugs.

John is rescued and taken to the hospital, where he undergoes surgery for an aortic rupture which although was successful doctors warns the family that he still in a critical condition and that there was a risk of bleeding later on.

Shortly after Moira tells him she loves him, John goes into cardiac arrest and despite doctors efforts to perform emergency surgery for another bleed, he dies.

[35] Of his final scene, Morgan explained "We couldn't hold back the tears as Moira stood over his hospital bed tenderly stroking his face, and John said they made the perfect team.