MacLeod was also quizzed on what he makes of the Robron craze, which began when his predecessor Kate Oates decided to put the pair together in 2014. MacLeod said: "I have never seen anything like it, to be honest. It is a phenomenon – the Robron phenomenon. I was aware of it before I came to "Emmerdale" and you think you understand it. But it's only when you are immersed in it you realise how passionately our audience care about those two characters. They have been through so much and survived it, so the audience are rooting for them and so am I fundamentally. I should also say a quick word on the Robron episode you watched this week. The writer Maxine Alderton, one of our very many talented writers, is a huge Robron fan. She has got Robron dolls and stickers on her laptop, so there was never any doubt about who would write that particular episode as she is a massive superfan.