Andy Sugden

Andy Sugden (also Hopwood) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale, played by Kelvin Fletcher. He made his first on-screen appearance during the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 4 July 1996. Andy was initially introduced as the foster son of Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) and Sarah Sugden (Alyson Spiro), before formally being adopted into the Sugden family. Appearing for 20 years, Andy emerged as one of the longest-serving characters in the programme's history. Across his tenure, his major storylines included accidentally causing the death of Sarah in a barn fire, a bitter feud with his adoptive brother Robert (Karl Davies/Ryan Hawley) and being framed for attempted murder which culminates in him fleeing the village. He was twice married to Katie Addyman (Sammy Winward), and engaged in domestic abuse towards his second wife Jo Stiles (Roxanne Pallet). A brief fling with Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) resulted in the birth of his daughter Sarah (Sophia Amber Moore), before their son Jack (Louis Webster/Seth Ball) is born to create a bone marrow donor for Sarah after she is diagnosed with fanconi anaemia. Fletcher has received widespread critical acclaim for his performance as Andy, winning multiple awards and nominations for his role. Particularly, the character's more emotive and challenging storylines have earned Fletcher praise for his portrayal whereas Andy was considered one of the most popular soap opera characters throughout his tenure. Fletcher stepped down from the role to pursue new challenges and his final scenes aired on 16 August 2016.