Emmerdale’s Natalie J Robb and co-star Johnny McPherson ‘are in a secret relationship’

Emmerdale stars Natalie J. Robb and Johnny McPherson are reportedly enjoying a secret relationship.

The pair, who play maneater Moira Barton and unlucky in love Liam Cavanagh respectively, are said to have kept the romance under wraps since the start of the year. 

However, according to The Mirror, Natalie, 45, and Johnny, 38, recently appeared as a couple on a recent Zoom call with some of their Emmerdale castmembers.

A source told the publication: ‘Natalie has had her fair share of romps as Moira but this time she’s found love off screen. Everyone is so happy for them.

‘Lockdown gave them some quality time together and they couldn’t be happier. It’s still early days but Natalie can’t stop smiling.’

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Emmerdale for further comment.  

The couple kept their relationship under wraps until the Zoom call for the birthday fo their Emmerdale co-star Liam Fox, who plays Dan Spencer. 

Natalie and Johnny were pictured on Zoom together looking cosy as they sat at the kitchen table. 

Insiders also told the publication that the couple have been friends for a few years and went on holiday together to Lapland just before Christmas.  

It appears the new romance has marked a change of heart for Natalie who recently insisted she was happy being single.

She said: ‘I don’t have time for romance. Statistics prove you are a lot happier and healthier now if you are single, because you don’t have to compromise.  

‘You are in control. You get pickier when you get older, you know what you don’t want.’

It comes after Emmerdale recently became the first soap to resume production following the coronavirus pandemic. 

The rural outdoor set for Emmerdale has been dramatically revamped so that actors can be filmed from above now that social distanced filming has begun.

It was revealed by a fan that scaffolding platforms have been put up around houses in the village where the show is filmed so that cameramen could shoot the cast from up high.

The soap has begun a phased return in order to minimise risk of infection at the studio, with Nicola Wheeler and Eden Taylor Draper also among the first to return.

New safety measures have been put in place at ITV studios including medical screening, safe-distance queuing and ambulances on set amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The area around the studio appeared to be well-signposted and notices advised the cast and crew to keep a safe distance as well as informing them about medical screenings.

The channel’s Health and Safety team and medical advisers have been working closely with the government to consult on social distancing guidelines to ensure the team are working in accordance with return-to-production protocols.

This means that filming units are staying together while working in designated studios, and the crew are using their own equipment which has been sanitised in advance while office staff continue to work from home.

ITV also revealed that they would not have any shoots on location, while scripts have been adapted to include fewer scenes and a small number of actors so that the cameras don’t need to be moved on a regular basis.