Unforgivable star Mark Womack's forgotten soap role as he returns to screen

Mark Womack is back on our screens tonight in Unforgivable, and will be seen alongside Anna Friel and Anna Maxwell Martin when the new drama premieres on BBC Two. The actor, 64, is no stranger to the small screen, having appeared in episodes of Judge John Deed, Vera, and Silent Witness over the years.

He had a regular role on Liverpool 1 in the late 1990s, where he met and later married co-star Samantha Janus, who later found huge success as Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, although they divorced in 2018. But Mark was also recently part of one of Britain's staple soap operas for a period of time.

Throughout 2020, he appeared as DI Mark Malone on ITV's Emmerdale and turned up in the village to investigate the shooting of Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter). Over time, it became apparent that his character was corrupt and, as the boss of Will Taylor (Dean Andrews), decided to blackmail his colleague, along with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle), into joining forces with him. He later started up an affair with Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton). When Harriet is about to get married to Will, Will decides to try framing Will for possession of drugs, but Will found out and bludgeoned his boss with a spanner.

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Dawn Taylor ( Olivia Bromley ) then threatened to report him to the police, but the corrupt copper found out and tried to force her into a drug overdose. But his evil plan was interrupted when Harriet walked in and hit him over the head, which led to Dawn fatally shooting him. Just over two years later, Harriet herself was killed off in 2022, when she died amid the show's 50th anniversary episodes.

Speaking about his character at the time, Mark said: "In a different world he would quite like Dawn, he probably thinks she is ballsy. That relationship has never been given the chance to form, and what he hates is people who betray him.

"Even though there is no relationship with Dawn, in his head once someone betrays you especially in the way that she does it, she compromises everything, his future, his plans it's unforgivable."

His final appearance on the show came in August 2020, and Mark has since been seen in an episode of Moving On and then became a regular in The Responder opposite Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo and Shameless star Warren Brown.

Unforgivable is a powerful new drama penned by the legendary Cracker and Time screenwriter Jimmy McGovern and amongst its stellar cast also features Adolescence child star Austin Haynes. The drama arrives on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Thursday 24 July, with episodes kicking off on BBC Two, from 9pm that same evening.

Set in Liverpool, the production follows the lives of the Mitchell family, who have been dealing with the aftermath of grooming and sexual abuse. After serving a two-year jail sentence, Bobby Schofield, the person who committed the disturbing crimes, was released from prison. Bobby is ordered to carry out a residential rehabilitation programme upon his release, to understand through therapy what may have led him to commit such an awful crime.

The series aims to understand all viewpoints and how abuse can impact every single person within a family setting. "Unforgivable examines the extensive ripple effect of abuse from multiple perspectives and how those involved can try to move forwards in the midst of the devastation," explained the BBC.

Its synopsis reads: "Having served his prison sentence, Joe (Bobby Schofield) arrives at St Maura's, an institution which offers him a home and rehabilitation after his release.

With the support of Katherine ( Anna Maxwell Martin ), an ex-nun, Joe undertakes therapy sessions in the hope of understanding what led him to commit the abuse." The overview further states: "Simultaneously, his sister, Anna (Anna Friel), is dealing with the enormous impact that Joe's crime has had on her family - her sons, Tom (Austin Haynes) and Peter (Finn McParland), and her father, Brian (David Threlfall)."

Unforgivable will air on BBC Two at 9pm this Thursday and will be available on BBC iPlayer from the same day.