List of Minor Emmerdale Characters (2004) - John McNally

John McNally was a local journalist with the Hotton Courier. He has appeared since 2004.

First appearing in 2004, McNally - as he is normally known - appears whenever there is a newsworthy event in the village. In 2004, he corners Pearl Ladderbanks when her rapist son Frank Bernard Hartbourne moves to the village after being released from prison. This sets off a chain of events which lead to the whole village finding out. In early 2005, he covers the disappearance of Shelley Williams, and her presumed murder by Steph Stokes. When Eric Pollard stands for re-election to the local Council, McNally tries to catch him in embarrassing positions, and catches him coming out of a van half-naked with Val Lambert. He also covers Steph Stokes being investigated for the murder of her brother Terence Turner and Tom King's murder. He hires aspiring journalist Jasmine Thomas for her village knowledge.

An unpopular man in the village, following Viv Hope's imprisonment he hounds Bob and writes an article claiming to expose Bob's alleged crime. This causes Bob to have a breakdown and stage a one-man protest outside the newspaper's offices. However, during this protest John is away attending the wedding of his former wife. In November 2008, he covers the new village choir's attempts to enter a competition; and in December Jasmine demands her article about the local criminal family the McFarlane's is changed to a story about the church.

McNally makes another appearance in April 2009, when Jasmine's grandfather Sandy asks him to help with a campaign to overturn Jasmine's murder conviction. In spite of their close working relationship, McNally has no sympathy for her, and goes as far as to crack jokes about lesbians in prison before Sandy tells him to get out. McNally has not been seen since.