Len Reynolds

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Emmerdale character

Len Reynolds

Portrayed by

Duration

First appearance

Last appearance

Date of birth

Date of death

17 May 2007
(Heart Attack)

Status

Deceased

Occupation

Retired

Family

Spouse	Eileen Reynolds
Children	Sean Reynolds
Grandchildren	Marc Reynolds Ollie Reynolds

Leonard "Len" Reynolds was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Peter Martin.

[edit] About Len

He arrived in Emmerdale in 2001 to visit his only son Sean after spending a few years living alone in Liverpool following the death of his wife Eileen. Len’s presence was a great comfort to his son and family. Sean and his wife Angie were going through a rocky patch in their relationship and having Len as a sounding board was helpful to both partners.

However, the marriage was destroyed when it was revealed that Angie had been sleeping with village villain Cain Dingle and Sean left to start a new life with his mistress Lady Tara. Left behind to help Angie pick up the pieces, at the request of granddaughter Ollie, Len kept a keen eye on his grandchildren Marc and Ollie - little knowing that soon he’d be required to take on an even more pivotal role in their lives.

When she heard Sean was marrying Lady Tara, Angie started drinking heavily and was lured back into Cain Dingle’s arms. When the relationship soured, Cain refused to accept it was over and started plotting to get Angie back. Tragically, her own plot to rid herself of him forever ended up in Angie being killed in a car crash - leaving her family distraught.

While Marc went to live at his father’s, Ollie elected to stay in Emmerdale with Len and soon her boyfriend Danny Daggert moved in. Len loved living with the two of them and was devastated when Ollie moved away to go to university.

In the meantime, Len had developed feelings for pensioner Edna Birch but she didn’t reciprocate.

However, he found love again in the arms of flamboyant newcomer Pearl Ladderbanks - who made it quite clear from the beginning that she thought he was sex on legs! Enchanted by Pearl’s sunny personality, Len moved in with her and it looked like his twilight years would be spent being deliriously happy.

But Pearl was hiding a terrible secret. Her son Frank Bernard Hartbourne , who she had said was a financial advisor, was released from prison - after serving time for rape. When Len found out the truth, he was horrified and it looked like the relationship may have been be over. But soon he realised the pain Pearl had been through and Len agreed to stand by her.

Having nowhere else to go, Frank was invited to Emmerdale by a reluctant Pearl. When news of his arrival was announced in the local paper, the villagers went crazy and turned against Pearl and Len in their droves. Only vicar Ashley Thomas and their loyal friend Edna stood by them.

Devastated at being treated so shabbily by their neighbours, the couple decided to leave Emmerdale for good. But, after much soul searching, they decided to stay and try and rebuild bridges with those who slighted them.

Len was delighted for Pearl when her grandson Owen came to visit from Hong Kong and even agreed to start saving for a trip overseas to see him. But Pearl’s scrimping and saving was about to get out of hand.

She started investing in an internet scheme that turned out to be a scam and lost the lot. The mistake ended up throwing Pearl into terrible financial mess and she ended up owing a huge sum of money to dodgy boss Eric Pollard. When he found out that Pearl had been blackmailed by Eric, Len thumped him and thought the matter was resolved.

But although he’d got the loan he given Pearl back, Pollard insisted on charging an early payment interest that he said must be paid or he’d report Len to assault. Pearl decided to keep this from him and Len had no idea that her debts are spiraling even further. Their relationship ended when Len found out about Pearls lies and she left the village in disgrace.

A couple of months later she returned to Emmerdale with two objectives, to win her respect and her man back. Unfortunately Len's heart really lay with Edna Birch. He had loved her from afar for a long time. He confessed his love for Edna to Pearl, but she vowed to stand by him and be satisfied with second best. More recently Len had proposed and the two of them were planning their wedding.

On 17 May 2007, Len, with most of the other villagers, was at the village pageant to celebrate Emmerdale's 500th birthday. Pearl was arranging who was doing what, and failed to include Edna. Len was slightly angry with Pearl and ran after Edna to see if see was alright, after he comforted her. Len then returned to the church hall with his friend Sandy Thomas, while all the action was kicking off outside, Len died, while he was dozing off in his seat. He had died suddenly due to a heart attack. He was found by Sandy, who was bringing Len a drink, his friend immediately thought that Len had fallen asleep and continued to nudge him until he checked Len's pulse and realised Len had died. Sandy, knowing it was too late, told a shocked Pearl who was gobsmacked. An ambulance came to take Len's body, while Pearl had a private moment and Sandy comforted a shocked Betty and Edna. As the news flooded into the village, Len's body was driven away in an ambulance whilst Katherine Jenkins sang him out, although as she was closing the pageant, she was unaware of the death in the village.