Brian Ian Francis "Biff" Fowler is a fictional character from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'', played by Stuart Wade from 1994 until 1999. Wade reprised his role as Biff in 2005 in a one-off appearance for

Seth Armstrong Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (know ...

's (

Stan Richards Stanley Richardson, known professionally as Stan Richards (8 December 1930 – 11 February 2005), was an English television actor, best known for his portrayal of Seth Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career He played the ro ...

) funeral.

Development

Three weeks after starting drama college, Wade was cast as Biff. He was initially contracted for five months. He was introduced as a friend of

Luke McAllister ''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1993, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by either Morag Bain or Nicholas Prosser, ...

(

Noah Huntley Noah Cornelius Marmaduke Huntley (born 7 September 1974) is an English actor and model. He has appeared in films such as '' 28 Days Later'' (2002), '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005), ''Snow White and the ...

). Of his character, Wade commented "He's a bit of a thug. He strikes up a friendship with Luke because they share a passion for bikes. And he's just the type of guy to lead Luke astray." Biff and Luke were members of the show's new "brat pack", along with Luke's sister

Jessica McAllister ''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1993, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by either Morag Bain or Nicholas Prosser, ...

(

Camilla Power Camilla Joy Cynthia Power (born 13 November 1976) is an Irish-born English actress. She is best known for her appearances in the television series ''Emmerdale'' and '' Waterloo Road''. Early life and education Power was born in Cork, Ireland, a ...

) and Dolores Sharp (Samantha Hurst). The characters were credited with giving the soap "a whole new look", and their friendship and romance storylines also become popular with viewers. Wade reprised the role in 2005 for

's (

) funeral.

Storylines

Biff first appears in Emmerdale as a biker and school friend of Luke McAllister. Biff has a romance with Luke's sister, Jessica and later moves in with

Betty Eagleton Betty Eagleton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Paula Tilbrook. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 April 1994. Betty is characterised as the village gossip wh ...

(

Paula Tilbrook Paula Tilbrook (16 January 1930 – 1 December 2019) was an English actress who played Betty Eagleton in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1994 to 2015. Career Born in Salford, Tilbrook begun her career performing on stage across North Ea ...

) and Seth Armstrong as their lodger. Following Jessica's departure, He then begins dating

Linda Glover Linda Fowler (also Glover) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Tonicha Jeronimo from 1994 to 1997. It was reported on 6 May 1997 that Jeronimo had quit the soap after three years. The character wa ...

(

Tonicha Jeronimo Tonicha Dobre (née Jeronimo; born 4 November 1977) is a British actress, born in Jersey, of partial Portuguese extraction. She is best known for her role as Linda Fowler in ''Emmerdale'' between 1994 and 1997 when her character was killed off. ...

) and they marry on Christmas Eve 1996, however the day is marred by Linda's brother

Dave Glover David "Dave" Glover is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Ian Kelsey. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 4 August 1994. The character was introduced in a bid to attract ...

(

Ian Kelsey Ian Kelsey (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Patrick Spiller in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', DI Richard Mayne in the ITV crime drama '' Blue Murder'' ...

) being caught in a fire at home farm and further tragedy strikes when Dave dies the following day in hospital. Biff and Linda are delighted when Linda falls pregnant in early 1997; but their happiness is cut short when she has a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

. Linda is killed in a car crash in October 1997 as a result of

Lord Alex Oakwell Alex, Lord Oakwell is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Rupam Maxwell. The actor auditioned for the part of Alex and was told he had won the role on the same day. His casting was announced in June 1 ...

(Rupam Maxwell) being high on cocaine, which leaves Biff devastated. He then has a

one-night stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

with

Kelly Windsor Kelly Windsor (also Glover) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Adele Silva. The character first appeared on 10 August 1993. Silva portrayed her from August 1993 until November 2000. In February 20 ...

(

Adele Silva Adele Silva (born 19 November 1980) is an English actress. She played the role of Kelly Windsor in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' on and off from 1993 to 2011. In 1989, she had a minor role in the final classic series ''Doctor Who'' story ''S ...

), his brother-in-law

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

's (

Nicky Evans Nicky Evans (born 20 April 1979) is an English actor who is best known for playing the roles of Shane Maguire on Channel 4's hit comedy drama '' Shameless'' and Roy Glover on the ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale''. He has also played roles in variou ...

) girlfriend, the following month. Kelly becomes pregnant but miscarries after she is pushed down the stairs by

Kim Tate Kim Taylor (also Barker, Marchant and Tate) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Claire King. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Kim is portrayed in the ser ...

(

Claire King Jayne Claire King (born Jayne Claire Seed; 10 January 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Kim Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' and Karen Betts in '' Bad Girls''. She has appeared in the fourth series of ''Strictly ...

). The following year, Biff has a fling with Alex's ex-wife

Lady Tara Oakwell Lady Tara Thornfield (also Cockburn and Lady Oakwell) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Anna Brecon. She made her first on screen appearance on 31 July 1997. She remained on and off in the show until ...

(

Anna Brecon Anna Brecon (born 1971), or Anna Juliet Davis, is an English actress, best known for portraying Tara Reynolds ('Lady Tara') in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Born in Salisbury,“DAVIS Anna Juliet / PRITCHARD / Salisbury 7c 2413 ...

) but she dumps him to marry Lord Michael Thornfield (

Malcolm Stoddard Malcolm Stoddard (born 20 July 1948) is a British actor who has appeared in films and television. Early life He attended the all-male grammar school Chichester High School For Boys. Career His TV credits include ''The Voyage of Charles Darwin'' ...

). Biff then begins dating

Kathy Glover Katherine "Kathy" Brookman (also Bates, Merrick, Tate and Glover) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Malandra Burrows. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 Novem ...

(

Malandra Burrows Malandra Elizabeth Burrows (born 4 November 1965) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her long-running role as Kathy Glover in ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Burrows' first name, Malandra, is a portmanteau of her pa ...

), Dave's widow, and they plans to marry but on their wedding day, Graham Clark (

Kevin Pallister Graham Clark is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Kevin Pallister. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 August 1998. Creation and casting In early August 1998, Steven ...

) shows up and Biff began to have doubts about marrying Kathy as he realises that Kathy saw a lot of Graham and was close to him. Biff jilted her at the altar, leaving Kathy distraught.

Marlon Dingle Marlon Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Mark Charnock. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 October 1996. Storylines Marlon comes to Emmerdale to stay wit ...

(

Mark Charnock Mark Charnock (born 28 August 1968) is an English actor, known for his role in ITV's ''Emmerdale'' as Marlon Dingle, a role he has played since 1996. Charnock and ''Emmerdale'' co-star Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk, produce a yearly ''Zomb ...

) wonders whether he will see his good friend again and Biff rode off on his motorbike, into the sunset. Six years later, Biff briefly returns to Emmerdale, following the death of Seth. He meets a grieving Betty, who is reliving memories of Seth in his shed. Biff tells Betty that she can stay in Keeper's Cottage for as long as she likes, despite her offering to move out. Biff comforts Betty as she explains that she does not want Seth to be cremated and he suggests that she stop the cremation after the wake. Biff attends the wake in The Woolpack and leaves again, following the funeral.

Reception

Paul Simper of the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' observed that Biff was "unlucky in love" throughout his time in the show, but thought he was "something of a catch in ''Emmerdale'', a grafter with a good heart and his own set of wheels."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Biff Emmerdale characters Television characters introduced in 1994 Male characters in television