John Wylie is the abusive father of Emily Wylie. John made his disapproval of Emily's relationship with Butch Dingle very clear. During an argument with the pair, John went to hit Emily but Butch floored him with a punch, scaring Emily into believing Butch will be like her father. Following the incident, John refused to let Emily and Butch have any contact whatsoever with each other - but this didn't stop Butch from wanting to talk to Emily. Butch got sick of John being over-protective with Emily, and the pair get into a fight. The fight becomes a car chase and ends with John nearly mowing down a farmer, but flipping his land rover. Butch managed to save both Emily and John before the car exploded, and John began to warm to Butch.
Despite Butch saving his life, he didn't see what Emily saw in him and continued to try split them up. However, when spending Christmas with the Dingles, he began to see what Emily saw in him. When Butch died in a bus crash in March 2000, John attended his funeral and comforted Emily.