List of Emmerdale Farm characters introduced in 1988

Barbara, played by Angela Down, was a history teacher who Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) had a brief fling with, resulting in the conception of their son, John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth). Jack, however was never aware of John's existence. In July 2024, it was revealed that Barbara had recently died, as Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) attended her funeral. There he met John and revealed to Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) that he could be her half-brother. She tries to get to know John and revealed to him that their father, Jack had died in 2009.

Barbara was a friend of Caroline Bates (Diana Davies), who attended her daughter Kathy Bates (Malandra Burrows) wedding to Jack's son, Jackie Merrick (Ian Sharrock) in 1988. Jack was immediately taken by her. At the wedding reception at ''Emmerdale Farm'', Caroline formally introduced the pair to one another. There is a noticeable attraction between the two. Barbara and Jack talk about their previous marriages, Jack having been widowed nearly two years prior following his wife Pat Sugden's (Helen Weir) death and Barbara's marriage having broken down after she had fallen out of love with her husband. The pair began to spend so much time together that Jack began to miss family events, such as his brother, Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines) buying ''Home Farm Estate'' at auction, and Kathy and Jackie's welcome home party. Jack was smitten with Barbara, however their fling didn't last long because Barbara revealed she was still in love with the man she left her ex-husband for. Jack understood that Barbara wasn't ready for a relationship, so they split up amicably. Unbeknownst to Jack, Barbara had fallen pregnant as a result of their fling, and their son, John was born later that year, who took his last name. Provided by Wikipedia