Emmerdale’s Joanne Mitchell sons haven’t watched her on show as it’s ‘uncool’

Actress Joanne Mitchell freely admits she can’t believe her luck as the newest antagonist in Emmerdale. Her real-life husband Dominic Brunt, who plays the legendary Paddy Kirk on the soap, is also a cast member, but their sons aren’t overly fond of him.

She says of her teenage children, “The boys are really laid back, but they haven’t watched me in the soap.”

They haven’t ever watched Dom either, to be perfectly honest.

The fact that your parents are actors is not cool. They are uninterested because they have grown up seeing us as actors, but I believe that is healthy.

“When I was a kid, it was big if you met an actor, but now there’s YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix, and besides, they’re really into farming, which is way cooler.”

Joanne is acting as Liv’s deranged mother Sandra Flaherty for the third time in Emmerdale.

But this time, the 50-year-old, who has previously made cameo appearances in the ITV soap as a detective and a midwife, will remain for at least the upcoming few months.

How does it feel to work alongside your husband, Dom, every day?

The actress admits, “We don’t actually see each other!”

“It seems like we aren’t working together because we are in completely different blocks.

Since I began filming in May, I’ve only once seen him in the building.

“However, Dom is very encouraging, and it’s great for me to learn more about his day-to-day duties as well. From a distance, you can have a healthy respect for those who are making soap, but when you are actually involved in the process, you have the chance to fully comprehend it. It’s an incredibly well-tuned machine that runs very smoothly.

The warm, jovial, and endearing actress portrays a happy picture of life in the Mitchell/Brunt household, in stark contrast to her strained on-screen relationship with daughter, Liv, as far removed from her character as she is able to be.

We play rugby together and do all the typical boy things, too, says Joanne.

The couple both prefer to spend quality time together at home and work on their own individual drama projects rather than partaking in the flashy parties that appearing on a high-profile TV soap can bring.

They established their own production company and recently finished Wolf Manor, a horror comedy film, for the London Frightfest Festival, which runs from August 25 to August 29 in Leicester Square. James Fleet, who starred in Four Weddings and a Funeral, is in the film.

We really enjoy spending time together, and since we are married, it is simple to be open and honest with each other about our experiences.

“We have such respect for one another, and I’ve always enjoyed slightly eccentric characters. I definitely err on the darker side, which is why I am currently enjoying myself in Emmerdale.

Joanne, who previously acted in Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, Doctors, and a theatrical production of Lady Macbeth, looks much younger than her 50 years and claims she has no plans to slow down.

She claims that if anything, turning 50 has given her a fresh lease on life.

You are, I suppose, as young as you feel, she says. “I sometimes think that when you reached your fifties, like my mother and grandmother did, you were ready to retire, but now I feel like I have way too much energy,” she said.

I think that now that our children are a little older and able to do things on their own, like put a pizza in the oven, it gives you a new-found independence, which I am trying to embrace.

The actress, who is portraying the cunning Sandra, has only been on television for a few weeks, but already horrified viewers have taken to social media to call her character “trailer trash” after she defrauded her daughter of £4,000 by making out that a mysterious loan shark named Terry was after her, only to later admit that she was working closely with him.

Joanne thinks that viewers would be outraged even more as Sandra intensifies her attempts to take as much money as she can from the Dingles, moving on to attack Mandy by robbing Mandy’s salon of cash.

In case fans pick on him when the pair is out and about in the area of their Yorkshire home, she feels particularly bad for her husband.

Poor Paddy and Dom! Joanne declares in jest. Isn’t Dom really going to get the last word?

But I’m having a blast and it’s so much fun playing the bad guy.

“Every time I read a new script, I tell myself, “OMG, there’s no way it could get any worse. It does, though. Things are just going to get worse.

Sandra is terrible. She is broken, opportunistic, and driven to make as much money as she can. She is unfiltered.

“I tried to imagine Paddy’s perspective on Sandra the other day, and I know he would give her the widest possible space.”

But don’t you know, everyone likes a villain, doesn’t it? she exclaims as she laughs.

Although they claim to despise them, it is the best acting role you can have because you are not playing the part.

“She is so different from me, and I am truly not like her at all, but that just makes it more enjoyable,” I said.

No one in the Dales is safe from cunning Sandra, the actress claims, adding that she doesn’t want to give away too much of the narrative by disclosing what occurs after.

Joanne cautions, “She won’t stop until she has what she wants.

She will use any means necessary, so when she notices money in Mandy’s tip box, she decides, “Right, I will have that then.”

But Sandra also has her sights set on other villagers’ treasures, particularly weak males. She won’t stop, and there is also the issue of Terry, who surfaced as the loan shark, to discuss.

“You do get the impression he has something on her. There’s sort of a Nancy/Bill Sykes connection going on. Despite being horrible for each other, it’s entertaining to see.

Joanne continues, “And the best part of being in the soap is getting to share the screen with wonderful friends like Lisa Riley.”

The three of them have been close friends for a very long time. Lisa attended her wedding to Dom in 2003.

When Lisa made the decision to return to Emmerdale in 2019, she first confided in Dom and Joanne.

Working with Lisa has been a blast, declares Joanne. We laugh so much together, but Lisa is fantastic because as soon as she arrives on set, she transforms into Mandy.

Sandra likes to rile up Mandy, although they both have a checkered past.

I am loving life right now and seizing it all while I can, she continues as she grinned.

I consider myself really fortunate to be working close to our home, with wonderful coworkers, and portraying such a crazy character. What more could one ask for?