Jonny Foster

Jonathan "Jonny" Foster was a fictional character in the ITV1 Soap opera Emmerdale. He was portrayed by Richard Grieve.

About Jonny
Jonny Foster is a farrier. He was first seen on February 2007 but was already known in the horse business. He and Grayson Sinclair appeared to strike up a friendly working relationship, much to the annoyance of Grayson's wife Perdy as Jonny is gay, while Grayson is bisexual.

In order to see if her husband was attracted to Jonny, Perdy set up a business dinner, inviting both Jonny and family friend Paul Lambert who, like Jonny, is also gay. In her state of paranoia, she was hoping that Paul's presence would attract Jonny's attention away from Grayson. She was successful as Jonny took an instant shine to Paul and the feeling was clearly mutual. However, in the aftermath of their first meeting, Paul started playing "hard to get," which only made Jonny even more interested. After numerous visits to the Woolpack Jonny gently persuaded Paul to come on a date with him, aided by Paul's mother and aunt who were both hoping that Paul would give Jonny a chance. On their first date, Paul dressed to impress, but his lack of foresight meant that he got his shoes ruined when Jonny took him for a walk in the muddy countryside. Despite Paul's whining Jonny was enjoying himself and was highly amused when Paul fell into a river after he himself successfully jumped over it.

The relationship quickly developed and after being together for nearly six months Jonny moved into Victoria Cottage, living with Paul, Emily Kirk, and Paul's father Rodney Blackstock. He confided in to Paul that he suffered from an eating-disorder when he was a teenager as a result of loneliness and unhappiness.

Jonny has proved to be a likeable and gentle character with a somewhat cheeky sense of humor, getting on well with the rest of Paul's family and friends. His affection for Paul is beyond doubt as he proved to be supportive and devoted on more than one occasion. However, he began feeling protective of his boyfriend after discovering that Paul's friend Grayson is gay and became slightly suspicious of the amount of time that the two have been spending together. Concerned for their relationship, Jonny confided in Chastity Dingle during an expensive jewellery display and auction at Home Farm. Chastity told Jonny that Paul needed commitment, and in a moment of sponteneity, the farrier bought an eternity ring and asked Paul to marry him. Despite initial hesistation, Paul happily agreed, and the two began to make plans for their wedding. The news of the engagement brought Jonny's mother Patricia to Emmerdale to meet Paul, although Jonny was wary regarding the meeting as he believed his mother would interfere in their wedding-plans. However, he was stunned when Patricia presented him with £5,000 to invest in his future with Paul.

As plans for the wedding continued, Jonny became concerned and irritated over Paul's lack of enthusiasm, unaware that he was nursing feelings for Grayson Things came to a head when the two slept together - however, Paul realised the full extent of what he had done when Grayson dismissed him and wrecked with guilt, he confessed all to Jonny. In the ensuing confrontation, Jonny ended the relationship and prepared to leave the village. However, Paul went after him and pleaded with him to come back if he ever thought that they could make it work. Torn, Jonny only managed to make it to the end of the street before coming back and offering Paul one last chance, also warning Gray off with a punch. Although he initially distanced himself from him, postponing their engagement, he quickly supported Paul when he began to have problems with his family and friends and the two began to get back on track. Jonny was eventually able to forgive Paul for his betrayal. However, he was shocked when he discovered that Katie Sugden had become a surrogate mother for Grayson and his wife Perdy and Gray warned him not to reveal his sexuality by threatening his relationship with Paul. Jonny initially tried to persuade Paul to move away, but later changed his mind as he had grown to like the village.

After sorting out his love-life, Jonny set up an aerobics dance-class for the villagers, followed by a fitness-club. He quickly realised that Paul's mother Val was struggling with her vision and persuaded the stubborn landlady to get help from a professional. Val was diagnosed with cataracts and Jonny supported her, even though she refused to make her condition public knowledge out of embarrassment. However, Paul, suspicious of Jonny's secretive behaviour, turned on him in the village and Jonny told him the truth about Val, making it public knowledge. The result was a mortified Val hurriedly driving off in her car and accidentally running over little Samson Dingle. Jonny supported Samson's devastated father Sam and accompanied him to the hospital, where Samson pulled through.

On March 3rd 2008, Paul and Jonny got married, though not in the way they originally planned. Furious that his parents were still arguing over petty little details for the ceremony, Paul begged Jonny to let them have their wedding day 'their way', and so ended up at the registry office in Hotten, where they tied the knot with only Emily and Jonny's friend Barry as witnesses. However, upon returning to Home Farm (where the service was originally meant to be held) neither of them could bring themselves to tell their parents they were already married, and so went through the entire ceremony again to please them with Barry pretending to be the registrar.

Departure
Jonny left the Dales shortly after Perdy escaped with Grayson's baby. Tired of Grayson's antics and rapidly losing trust in Paul, Jonny drove away from Emmerdale. He was finally heard reading a letter he had told Katie to give to Paul telling Paul he loved him.