Bob Hope and his wives and kids: Emmerdale’s most married man and his seven children!

Bob Hope in Emmerdale is what you might call a serial monogamist.

It’s true Emmerdale boasts a good few men who have been married a LOT. Paddy Kirk has walked down the aisle five times  – twice to current wife, Mandy Dingle. Dr Liam Cavanagh has had three wives – as he reminded Cain in a recent episode, while Marlon Dingle has been married four times.

But when it comes to romance in Emmerdale, Bob Hope takes the crown!

He’s been married, divorced, loved up, cheated, been cheated on and generally been at the heart of the drama since even before he first arrived in Emmerdale.

How many children does Bob have?

And as for kids, Bob’s got more than his fair share there too! He has seven biological children (not that he ever talks about most of them!).

He’s currently struggling to come to terms with the loss of his son, Heath, after a car accident late last year ended in Heath’s death.

But Heath isn’t the first offspring Bob has lost. In fact, he has also said sad goodbyes to daughter Dawn and his stepdaughter, Donna.

Here’s the lowdown on Bob Hope, his many marriages and his multiple offspring!

Bob’s arrival in Emmerdale

Bob Hope made his mark on Emmerdale almost immediately after his arrival in 2000. Back then he was selling tights for the company Naughty Nylons and charm was his middle name!

He hit it off with Viv Windsor and decided to settle in the village. The pair tied the knot a year later. Viv was not Bob’s first wife, though!

By the time he came to Emmerdale, Bob had already been married and divorced four times and had five children!

Twenty-four years after he first set foot in the village, Mr Hope has now been married and divorced seven times to five different women – though he’s actually walked up the aisle eight times.

Bob’s first three wives

Bob’s first wife was called Jean. Bob and Jean tied the knot twice, and they had two children – Dawn and Jamie. Dawn was mum to Bob’s grandson, TJ, who’d be 21 now!

Both Dawn and Jamie stayed in Emmerdale for a while. Though Dawn’s stint in the village ended in tragedy – more on that later.

Bob’s second wife, Barbara, is mum to Josh and Carly. They both arrived in the village to attend Bob’s second wedding to Viv.

Back then Carly was played by Rebecca Ryan, who went on to appear in Shameless and Coronation Street. Josh was played by Marc Silcock who later played tragic Jackson Walsh. When Carly came to the village later she had been recast and was played by Gemma Atkinson.

And Bob also had a short-lived Las Vegas marriage to third wife Vonda Lockhart. She’s the mum of Bob’s daughter Roxy. Roxy briefly visited the village in 2007.

Bob and Viv

Bob married Viv twice too. They had twins Cathy and Heath together.

Bob was a father figure and stepdad to Viv’s daughter Donna, whose biological father was Viv’s late husband, Vic Windsor.

Bob was also stepdad to Scott Windsor, Viv’s son with Reg Dawson, and Kelly Windsor, Viv’s stepdaughter thanks to her marriage to Vic Windsor!

Donna died in 2014 and left her daughter April in the care of her father Marlon. April calls Bob her grandad.

Bob and Brenda

Bob’s most recent marriage was to Brenda Walker. He and Brenda first had a handfasting ceremony in 2013, in which they exchanged vows, though it wasn’t a legal marriage.

They then married for real in 2018, but he was in love with Laurel at the time and Brenda knew what was going on. She told him to be with Laurel at their wedding reception!

Tragedies

Bob has now buried two of his children and one of his stepchildren. Dawn Woods was the first of his children to die back in July 2006.

Jimmy King was indirectly responsible for poor Dawn’s death after he opened his new King’s River development. He knew the show home had been damaged by Cain Dingle but Jimmy patched it up and went ahead with allowing people inside.

Dawn was one of the visitors and Jimmy’s bodge job came back to haunt him when the house exploded. The explosion killed three people – including Dawn, who was dragged from the rubble in front of her horrified dad.

Donna Windsor, Bob’s stepdaughter, died in 2014 shortly after returning to the village with Marlon’s secret daughter, April. She was suffering from mesothelioma, and only had a few years at best to live. But she ended up sacrificing her life when she threw herself off a multi-story car park while handcuffed to villain Gary North.

And of course Heath passed away after the car accident late last year.

Cheating!

Bob’s a big fan of romance – he’s always falling in love and he has also done a fair amount of cheating in his time! He once had a drunken one-night stand with Brenda’s daughter Gennie.

And he and Laurel Thomas had a controversial romance when Bob was preparing to tie the knot with Brenda Walker. Laurel had recently lost her husband Ashley Thomas. Ashley had been Bob’s best friend and the romance definitely bloomed from their grief.

When Bob left Brenda for Laurel on their wedding day, Laurel was stunned. Things soon unravelled between them though when he became too much for Laurel, who realised she didn’t love him and was just missing Ashley.

Now Bob’s in a relationship with Wendy Posner. Things haven’t all been plain sailing however. Wendy thought Bob had lost interest in her when in fact he was suffering from impotence.

Wendy looked elsewhere and ended up having an affair with younger doctor Liam Cavanagh. Bob found out and despite the fact he had also been tempted to cheat with Bernice Blackstock, he said he loved Wendy.

The stress then caused Bob to have a heart attack. But he and Wendy reconciled. Will they tie the knot?

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.

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