The Barton family tree: From Mucky Moira to tragic John, James and Emma
Moira and Matty are the only ones remaining in the village
The Barton family in Emmerdale burst onto our screens in 2009. The brood were the brainchild of the then executive producer Gavin Blyth, who wanted to overhaul the show by bringing in a sexy, modern farming family.
The Bartons were originally a five piece, made up of farmer John, his wife Moira and their three teenage children – Holly, Adam and Hannah.
Four years later saw the arrival of John’s older brother James Barton, and his three sons, Pete, Ross and Finn. And then along came James’s former wife, Emma – who definitely brought the drama with her.
Like the ill-fated King family, the Bartons rank up there with Emmerdale’s most cursed clans. Half of them are now six feet under and only Moira and Matty (formerly Hannah) remain in the village flying the Barton flag.
Here’s a breakdown of who is (or was) who in the brood and their major moments.
Moira Dingle – nee Barton, matriarch of the family in Emmerdale
Moira, played by Natalie J Robb, is one of Emmerdale’s most popular characters.
She came to the village in July 2009, when she and husband John purchased Butlers Farm from the newly-divorced Andy Sugden.
Moira and John were childhood sweethearts. They’d married young and had three teenage children – son Adam and daughters Holly and Hannah (who later transitioned to Matty).
On the outside, the Bartons were a solid couple. However, it wasn’t long before Moira found herself unable to resist the charms of a certain Cain Dingle.
Their affair ended Moira’s marriage to John, who then sadly perished in a car crash.
After John’s untimely death, Moira reunited with Cain and went on to marry him in 2014.
Two years later Moira’s world was shattered when daughter Holly died from a heroin overdose.
Happiness followed in 2017 when she gave birth to Cain’s son Isaac. But his arrival came as something of a shock to Moira, who didn’t realise she was pregnant.
Moira and Cain’s marriage has survived betrayals on both sides but they remain one of soap’s most popular partnerships.
John Barton
John Barton, played by James Thornton, was Moira’s first husband. A farmer by trade, John was a loyal and hardworking man who always tried to put his family first.
John had an older brother called James, but the pair fell out after James bedded Moira. Moira strayed again with Cain Dingle, which broke John’s heart and led him to end their marriage.
The couple came close to a reunion, but fate dealt them a cruel blow when John was killed in a car crash.
Holly Barton
Holly Barton, played by Sophie Powles, was Moira and John’s first-born child.
The party-loving schoolgirl was the most unruly of the Barton kids. After a brief fling with a still-closeted Aaron Dingle, Holly began dabbling with cocaine.
Her recreational drug use spiraled into an uncontrollable heroin addiction, which saw her resorting to theft and prostitution to fund her habit. Moira and John took action and forced Holly to go cold turkey. But the trauma of her dad’s death caused her to relapse.
After eventually getting clean Holly moved to London with her sister Hannah in 2012.
She returned four years later on the run from a drug dealer.
Sadly Holly couldn’t beat her addiction and suffered a fatal overdose in September 2016. The character’s death, which wasn’t announced before transmission, has gone down as one of Emmerdale’s most dramatic exits.
Adam Barton
Adam Barton, played by Adam Thomas, is the son of Moira and her late brother-in-law James. He didn’t discover the identity of his biological dad until he was in his twenties, and had always assumed he was the son of John.
A down to earth cheeky chap, Adam struck up a bromance with Aaron Dingle, which endured throughout his time in the village.
Adam married Victoria Sugden in 2015. However, his fertility problems meant the couple were unable to have children.
The character left the village in 2018 after admitting to the murder of his aunt Emma Barton, to protect his mum Moira, who was the real killer. After ‘confessing’ to the crime, Adam decided to go on the run and escaped in a shipping container.
Now divorced from Vic, Adam remains a fugitive and is living abroad somewhere.
Matty Barton
Matty Barton – formerly known as Hannah – is Moira and John’s youngest child.
The character, who has been played by Ash Palmisciano since 2018, identified as female during his early years in the village.
As a teenager, Matty was shy and had a string of short-lived flings with unsuitable lads. After flunking his A-levels, Matty went to live in London with his sister Holly.
During his time there, Hannah transitioned to male and changed his name to Matty.
He returned to Emmerdale in 2018 and underwent top surgery the following year.
Matty got his happy ever after in 2024 when he married long term girlfriend Amy Wyatt.
However a stint in prison earlier this year has changed him for good. In a male prison, forced to hide his trans secret, Matty, who was innocent, found life very hard. He even arranged for his cellmate to beat him up as he felt safer in hospital than inside.
James Barton and his family in Emmerdale
Fellow farmer and single dad James Barton, played by Bill Ward, set up home in village in October 2013. He was the brother of John Barton and father of Pete, Ross, Finn and Adam Barton (who was originally thought to be John’s son).
James and John had been close growing up, but became estranged after James slept with John’s wife Moira – which later transpired had resulted in her conceiving Adam.
James raised his sons Pete, Ross and Finn alone after ex-wife Emma walked out on them.
He started a romance with Woolpack landlady Chas Dingle, but she dumped him after Emma returned on the scene and schemed her way back into James’s affections.
James’s fate was sealed when he started to grow closer to Moira again. Jealous Emma held him hostage, and when he tried to escape her clutches she pushed him off a bridge. This started a chain of events that led to the Hotton Bypass Crash.
Miraculously, James survived the fall, but succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Emma Barton
Emma Barton, played by Gillian Kearney, was the unhinged former wife of James Barton. She was also mum to his three sons, Pete, Ross and Finn.
The character had a complicated and messy backstory.
As a young mother, Emma had been gripped by postnatal depression and terrified of her husband James’s closeness to sister-in-law, Moira.
Pushed to the edge, she attempted to suffocate her middle son, Ross with a pillow – which was witnessed by his older brother, Pete. Emma had then fled, abandoning her family and wasn’t heard from for more than 20 years.
Two decades later, Emma was tracked down by her youngest lad, Finn and came to live in the village. She eventually reconciled with all her boys and got back together with ex-husband, James.
But Emma was unable to get over the revelation that James had fathered a child with Moira.
After making it look as if James’s fall was an accident, Emma got away with murder for 10 months until Finn found out the truth and she unintentionally shot him dead.
Emma met her own grisly end when she was pushed off a viaduct by sister-in-law Moira in a storyline dubbed ‘Who Killed Emma Barton?’
Pete Barton
Pete Barton, played by Anthony Quinlan, is the eldest son of the late James and Emma Barton and probably best remembered for his rivalry with brother Ross.
On the day of his wedding to Debbie Dingle, Pete discovered she’d been sleeping with Ross behind his back. But before he could do anything a helicopter crashed into their venue!
In the aftermath, Pete believed he’d killed Ross and drove his body to the woods, where he dumped him. Ross was later revealed to be alive, and Pete and Debbie got their marriage annulled.
Pete also had a short stint in prison after he assaulted Ross.
After failed romances with Tracy Robinson, Rhona Goskirk and making a pass at his Auntie Moira (ick!), Pete left the village in February 2020 to go and live with Ross in Liverpool.
Ross Barton
Ross Barton is the bad boy middle son of the late James and Emma Barton.
He was a hugely popular character and actor Michael Parr won numerous awards for his portrayal of the Dales bad lad.
The stereotypical black sheep of the family, Ross preferred to play by his own rules. Ross was initially characterised as a criminal. His first appearance saw him hijacking Laurel Thomas’s car.
But underneath that hard man exterior was a soft centre, which was shown during his romance with cancer-stricken Donna Windsor.
Ross had an eye for the ladies – he bedded Charity Dingle (which resulted in her getting pregnant with Moses) and also had an affair with her daughter Debbie.
After enduring the loss of his father James, Ross faced his darkest hour in 2018 when he was scarred for life in a targeted acid attack.
Later that year, Ross decided he was done with the Dales and left to start a new life with his girlfriend Rebecca White and her son Sebastian.
Tragic Finn Barton in Emmerdale
Finn Barton was Pete and Emma’s youngest son and little brother to Ross and Pete.
The character was played by Joe Gill.
Studious, and far more sensible than both his brothers, Finn had just finished a degree in economics when he arrived in the village. With big plans to travel in Asia, Finn took on a job as a cleaner at The Grange B&B to earn money.
Finn was openly gay, but didn’t have much luck with men. One particular date, Brad, spiked his drink, which resulted in Finn ending up in hospital.
He was besties with Victoria Sugden, and they made a pact to marry if they both reached 30 and were still single.
In 2015, Finn tracked down his estranged mum Emma and forgave her for running out on them when he was a baby.
Unfortunately his decision to allow Emma back into his life proved to be fatal one.
Finn died in 2017 after being accidentally shot by Emma.
He was taken to hospital but suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away, aged just 25.
Read more: The Dingle family: From Zak to Cain and Belle
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