Ross Kirk

Ross Kirk is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera "Emmerdale". He is portrayed by Samuel Anderson and made his first appearance on 10th October 2007

Character's background

Ross, cousin of village vet Paddy, arrived after being transferred to Hotten police station.

Ross has an eye for the ladies and can sometimes cross the line between self-confident and smug.

Two Timing

In January 2008, Ross began dating Lexi Nicholls and then Chastity Dingle. He dated them at the same time and it wasn't long before the best friends found out. Lexi became suspicious of Ross and followed him into Hotten. She was shocked when she saw Ross go into a restaurant with Chas. Lexi followed them in and the three ended up in a messy food fight. Chas and Lexi were arrested afterwards and they began plotting revenge against Ross who was back in The Woolpack joking about it. The next day, Chas and Lexi went over to Ross' house and pretended that they forgive him. They brought him upstairs and then handcuffed him to the bed. Chas and Lexi then took pictures of Ross and spread them around the village, putting some in newspapers (to Pearl Ladderbanks' shock) and in The Woolpack.

Accident and Blame Avoidance

On 31 March 2008, Ross saw Shane Doyle attempt to force himself on fellow officer Donna Windsor-Dingle.

The next day, a hung-over Ross accidentally brushed his car against a motorcyclist whilst driving with his cousin Paddy. The victim, Genesis Walker, seemed fine, and Ross was more concerned about potentially losing his job if the Breathalyzer detected alcohol. Paddy agreed to lie that he was driving and Ross was a passenger. However, Genesis soon collapsed and was put in intensive care, and an increasingly guilt-ridden Paddy informed Ross either he could tell the truth, or Paddy would do it for him.

The next day, a furious Paddy went to the police station to tell them what had happened. When they heard Genesis had recovered, Ross tried to keep Paddy quiet, to no avail. Shane Doyle finally convinced Paddy to stay quiet in exchange for a light sentence, convincing him otherwise he would be charged with perverting the course of justice and go to prison. Shane then asked Ross to convince Donna not to file a complaint against him for his sexual harassment. In spite of Ross' best efforts, Donna pushed ahead, and assumed he would back her up. Instead, Ross was deliberately vague when he gave his account, doing nothing to help Donna.

As a result of Ross' actions, he was shunned by Paddy and Donna. Ross soon felt guilty and became involved in the Dingle family attempts to punish Shane for his actions. After Donna stopped drugs from being planted in Shane's locker, he backed off of her, and she resumed a normal job life.

Feelings for Donna

Donna and Ross continued as partners, with Donna even saving Ross' life at one point. Ross confessed his love to Donna while they were on a stakeout. Donna rebuffed him, but seemed to have some doubts as to her feelings.