Jonny McPherson thinks Liam Cavanagh is becoming a "nerdy" comedy character.
The \'Emmerdale\' star - who has played the doctor on the ITV show since 2014 - joked that bosses have turned his alter ego into a combination of actor Hugh Grant, and Steve Coogan\'s comic creation Alan Partridge.
Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper\'s Hot TV column, he quipped: "Increasingly, I\'m being written as a cross between Hugh Grant and Alan Partridge, but I\'m delighted about it as it\'s lots of fun.
"It\'s all about enhancing aspects of yourself. In real life I\'m not as geeky and awkward!"
The 37-year-old actor will take the character in another direction on the soap when he dresses up as a sheriff for a Wild West themed show.
However, he had to do some work to get into the part, including training on horse riding and watching classic films.
He revealed: "I had a day with a fella called Mark who trains people to ride horses. He\'s done \'Poldark\' and everything.
"And to prepare, I watched \'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly\' all the way through.
"We wanted to emulate the Lee Van Cleef way of looking right and left as much as possible."
It will be an eventful day for Doctor Cavanagh as he returns to the village for girlfriend Bernice Blackstock\'s (Samantha Giles) Wild West Fundraiser and she decides to propose to her partner.
She swoons when she sees her man - who announces a surprise is coming at the end of the day - dressed as the sheriff, and it remains to be seen if her proposal will go to plan.
