Lady Tara Oakwell
| Tara Thornfield | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Anna Brecon | ||||||||
| Duration | 1997–98, 2000–02, 2007 | ||||||||
| First appearance | 31 July 1997 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 28 May 2007 | ||||||||
| Introduced by | Mervyn Watson (1997) Kieran Roberts (2000) Kathleen Beedles (2007) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation | Businesswoman | ||||||||
| Home | Cheshire | ||||||||
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| Husband |
Lord Alex Oakwell (1997–98) Lord Michael Thornfield (1998–99) Sean Reynolds (2002–) |
|---|---|
| Stepsons | Marc Reynolds |
| Stepdaughters | Ollie Reynolds |
| Nephews | Julian Simmonsbury |
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 departing on 4 January 2002 for a new life with Sean Reynolds, whom she later married, but made a brief return with step-son, Marc (Anthony Lewis), in 2007 for her father-in-law Len's funeral.
Brecon made her first appearance as Tara on 31 July 1997. The actress quit the role in September 1998 to move onto other projects. Brecon revealed "It's my decision. It will be sad because the people here couldn't be lovelier and it's such a good job. But I don't need the security of long-term work at this time in my life. If I had children or was settled down then things might be different, but for the moment I just want to try out other things." Two years later, Brecon returned to Emmerdale. The actress revealed that while she was away she had done some theatre and film work, but she was ready to go back to the soap. When asked if she missed Emmerdale, Brecon said "I don't regret leaving as I wanted other challenges but I did miss the camaraderie of being on the show, and I missed playing Tara as the role was great fun." Brecon confirmed that she would be staying for "a decent spell". In May 2007, Peter Martin's character, Len Reynolds, was killed off and Brecon reprised her role for her on-screen father-in-law's funeral.
A writer for Soaplife described Tara as being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. They added "she's a devious debutante who knows how to box clever." Brecon told Ellie Gonower of the same publication that the writers wrote well for her and called her character "great fun". She explained that Tara has a lot of comedy in her, and she was always running around like a bull in a china shop. Brecon modelled Tara on British socialites Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Tamara Beckwith. Her mother's influence also came through in her portrayal of the character. Brecon explained "I find myself becoming my mum in scenes where I have to be angry or forceful. She'll probably kill me for saying it. It's strange because my mum is not a forceful person at all, but I guess she must be my idea of authority." The actress said that her initial appearances as Tara often saw her wearing short dresses and acting a bit dense, while she was tagged on the side of Lord Alex Oakwell (Rupam Maxwell). Brecon revealed that it was great when she got to build Tara up into a major character.
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