john arnley, played by paul warriner, made his first screen appearance on 15 december 2002. the character and casting was announced on 19 november 2002. warriner previously appeared in coronation street as ben williams in 1990. of his role, a spokesperson commented "paul's role will really start off with a bang, and then a few twists." john began "a passionate affair" with his student toyah battersby (georgia taylor), but when she took him home to meet her flatmates, john set his sights on maria sutherland (samia ghadie). maria initially rejected john's advances, but a love triangle soon developed, which prompted toyah to decide to leave the street.