Ross Barton is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Michael Parr.

Ross first appears as the carjacker of Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), before being revealed to be the nephew of Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb).

The softer side of Ross' personality is explored when he enters a secret relationship with police officer Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth), who has terminal cancer.

Producers created a whodunit storyline in 2015 when Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) becomes pregnant and does not reveal the father.

In 2018, Ross became the subject of an acid attack in one of the show's most issued storylines and the character's most defying event.

Ross Barton made his first appearance when he hijacks local resident Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), while she is waiting in her car.

Cain's wife, Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb) later recognises Ross as her marital nephew and she allows him to stay at the farm.

He is seen on occasions with a woman called Laura Atkinson (Farrel Hegarty), and Ross's lodger Debbie Dingle's (Charley Webb) daughter, Sarah (Sophia Amber Moore), becomes fond of her.

He realises she is a dodgy policewoman and he agrees to help her burgle the house of Gary North, a prolific local criminal.

Ross and Debbie begin an affair after weeks of flirting, whilst she is engaged to his brother Pete (Anthony Quinlan).

They plan to run away a few days before the wedding, however Cain stops them and announces he is the father of Debbie's half-brother, Moses.

On the wedding day, Cain ties Ross up and puts him into the back of a van, which he parks at the edge of a cliff.

When he wakes up, he goes back to the village to witness Cain and Pete putting a lifeless Debbie into the car as a result of a helicopter crash.

Instead of finding help for his dying brother, Pete places Ross into the boot of his car and drives to the woods, where he hides him a ditch and covers his body with leaves.

Ross shocked everyone when he forgives Pete for his actions but later kidnaps him and ties him to a bridge with the intention of making him look like he committed suicide.

[2] On joining the show, Michael Parr stated "I am thrilled to be playing a regular character in Emmerdale.

storyline in 2015 where it was a revealed after months of speculation that Ross was the father of Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) baby Moses.

"[5] Other potential suspects included Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) and Declan Macey (Jason Merrells).

[8] However a shock twist in an episode broadcast on 25 August 2015, where it was revealed that Ross had survived and was seen opening his eyes in a hospital bed.

Discussing the huge secrecy involved in the storyline twist, Parr: "It's been difficult, fun and exciting.

[10] Parr told Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that his new storyline is not "straightforward" and requires several acting techniques.

Parr said that he is nervous about portraying the subject, commenting, "I know it's a reality for some people and it's so important to get it right and do the story justice.

[15] Parr was longlisted nominated for "Best Villain, "Sexiest Male", " and "Best Newcomer", respectively at the 2014 British Soap Awards but did not make the shortlist for the latter two categories[16][17] In August 2017, Parr was longlisted for "Best Bad Boy" and "Sexiest Male" at the Inside Soap Awards.

[18] He made the viewer-voted shortlist for "Sexiest Male",[19] but lost out to Davood Ghadami, who portrays Kush Kazemi in EastEnders.

[21] For his portrayal of Ross, Parr was nominated for Best Soap Actor (Male) at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; he came in sixth place with 8.5% of the total votes.