Ella Forster, played by Paula Lane, made her first appearance on 16 January 2024.[2] The character and casting was announced on 21 November 2023, with it being reported that Lane would begin filming that same month.[3][4] Ella was described as "compassionate and caring" and "far from a pushover" and it was teased that it would not be long until Ella is "turning heads in the village".[3] Ella will meet Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) and her partner, Paddy Dingle (Dominic Brunt), at the veterinary ball, which will lead to Ella losing her job after sticking up for Mandy, but then find luck when she has a "chance encounter" with local doctor Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker).[3] Speaking about her casting, Lane, known for her role as Kylie Platt in another ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, said that was she was excited to be joining the Emmerdale cast, adding: "Everyone has been so welcoming and I can't wait to start a new chapter playing the role of Ella. I've already heard there are big plans for her and I can't wait to see her navigate a new life in the village and hopefully make some friends!"[5][6]
Ruby Fox-Miligan, played by Beth Cordingly, made her first appearance on 25 January 2024.[7] Ruby is the wife of Caleb Miligan (William Ash) and the mother of his son, Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope).[8]Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw teased the character's arrival in October 2023 when she said that the affair between Caleb and Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh) would lead to a "new arrival" who would cause uproar, which Shaw was excited about.[9] The following month, the character was officially announced by Shaw at an Emmerdale press event, though the portrayer of the character was not revealed.[9] On 6 December 2023, Jessica Sansome of the Manchester Evening News confirmed that Beth Cordingly had been cast as Ruby.[7] Of her casting, Cordingly stated "I’m delighted to be joining the cast of Emmerdale, it's an enormous privilege and Ruby is a dream role. She's a firecracker and a troublemaker and I think people will love her or hate her, and I can't wait to get stuck in with this fabulous cast."[7]
Speaking of the character, Shaw teased "We've heard mention before of [Ruby] and we've just heard little bits from Caleb saying it's 'all over between them' and that 'there's nothing going on' but is that really true? In the new year we will see Ruby bursting onto our screens. She is an absolute firecracker. She's going to put a real spanner into the Dingles. Is her and Caleb's relationship really over as he's made out? We'll find out in the new year. Fans will have to wait and see who bosses have cast as the feisty newcomer."[10][11] The character was later billed as "fiery, confident, unpredictable and a fiercely devoted mum."[7] Sansome (Manchester Evening News) reported that Ruby would "happily destroy" any family that Caleb has established on his own while he has been away from her, adding that "Ruby's a force to be reckoned with and a ticking time bomb."[7] Producer Kate Brooks said the character had "scores to settle" and being loyal to her family, she will protect them by any means. Brooks also said that Ruby and Caleb's relationship is both passionate and volatile.[7]
For her role as Ruby, Cordingly was longlisted for "Best newcomer" and "Best Villain" at the 2024 Inside Soap Awards.[12][13] Of the character's arrival, Claire Crick from What to Watch wrote that "Fans' prayers have been answered".[14] Following the character's debut, Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap wrote that "Ruby's our new favourite character of 2024, and we'll fight anyone who says otherwise."[15]
Rose Jackson, played by Christine Tremarco, made her first appearance on 25 April 2024.[16] It was revealed that the character has been living abroad in Benidorm and is already known to established character, Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) and is going to "cause a stir" between him and his wife Kim Tate (Claire King).[16] Brenna Cooper from Digital Spy reported that Rose's arrival will "ruffle feathers between the couple after Will fails to mention to his wife that he knows the bolshy and boisterous new arrival."[16] Of her casting, Tremarco said, "I am thrilled to be joining Emmerdale! To be working with such a wonderful cast and crew along with the brilliant writing and production team is an absolute joy! Rose is so much fun to play. She is free-spirited, boisterous and totally mischievous with a steely edge and a big heart."[16]Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw added the Emmerdale team was "massively delighted to welcome Christine Tremarco to the Emmerdale family."[16] When Rose first appears in Emmerdale, she is visited by Will, who is not happy with her arrival. It is later revealed that she is his ex-wife and also the mother of his daughter, Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley).
Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap commented on how fans were speculating on social media that Rose would be a donar match for her grandson, Evan Fletcher, with Tyler suspecting that they are "right".[17] Tyler's colleague, Gary Gillatt, called Rose "wonderfully bumptious" and said that she was "seemingly invented to spit venom at Kim".[18] Chloe Timms from the same magazine believed that Rose had "Faith Dingle energy".[19]
Josh Cope, played by Osian Morgan, made his first appearance on the 3 June 2024.[20] His casting was announced on 23 May of that year, with it being teased that the character would be "stirring trouble" in the village and be involved in a new storyline with Samson Dingle (Sam Hall).[20] Josh is introduced as the transphobic friend of Samson, who he has a drink with at The Hide where Matty (Ash Palmisciano) and his wife, Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson) work.[21] Josh begins to flirt with Amy, which makes her feel uncomfortable.[21] After Josh continues, Amy decides to leave work early as she can't cope with Josh's constant flirting.[21] Matty asks the two boys to leave the premises, but things get nasty between Josh and Matty.[21] Josh then threatens Matty, who is chopping vegetables and holding a knife, asking him for the cash till.[21] Matty refuses and Josh pushes Samson into him and Samson ends up getting stabbed by accident.[21] As a result, the narrative has been turned and it looks as though he was the violent one and was subsequently arrested[21] and is on remand in jail, due to Josh and Samson lying about the events that took place.[22]
Fans soon recognised problems within the storyline[23] after Amy and Matty's mother Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) approached the manager of The Hide, Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) regarding CCTV evidence, which conveniently "wasn't in operation" due to his cost-cutting.[23] The storyline was compared to those in ITV's other soap opera, Coronation Street "with their regular cycle of locking up long-serving regulars for murder based on flimsy 'evidence' every couple of years."[23] Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy also said the storyline had a "lack of builf-up"[23] as Josh was only introduced three days before the stabbing took place.[23] He also said that Josh has "a hold on Samson"[23] and "it's not clear enough why Samson is scared to speak up against Josh, but has no problem defying his dangerous relative Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), who wants him to change his story."[23] Kilkelly also said it would have been "more effective to see Samson and Josh's friendship grow over a period of weeks rather than days, even if they were playing minor roles in episodes before eventually coming to the forefront."[23]
A week after the events at The Hide, Josh was targeted by Matty's mother-in-law, Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) in The Woolpack.[24] Kerry tried to charm Josh when he goes into the pub for a drink[24] and tries to record his confession.[24] As a result, pub landlady, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) walked in with Samson, who revealed Kerry's connection to Matty.[25] Charity orders Kerry to get back to work, but she refuses leading to her getting fired altogether.[25] Josh and Samson subsequently plan a trip to Europe, which sparked off even more suspicion that they were lying about the stabbing.[26]
Les Carmichael, portrayed by Stacy J Gough,[27] was Matty Barton's (Ash Palmisciano) cellmate in HMP Hotten.[27] Gough's casting was announced on 25 June 2024,[27] two days before his character's first appearance. Matty confides in Les about being transgender and Les helps him by telling him how to behave in prison.[27] He confirms that he will mind his own business regarding Matty's life, but warns him that other prisoners aren't so kind.[27] He also protects Matty from another inmate named Robbo (John O'Neil), who tries to get the lowdown on Matty.[27]
Palmisciano spoke about the importance of tackling transphobia in the plot, explaining that the show has aimed to portray "how vulnerable Matty can be in a situation like [Josh's taunts]. Not everyone is super accepting,"[27] he said, adding: "It is great Matty's got that support. It's lovely to tell, we showed the wedding recently, it was an exciting joyous moment. It looked so incredible on screen. But sometimes we need to show the flip side of that, how it could go the other way and could be quite cruel for someone like Matty. It shows the bigger picture of what it is like to be him. I was really excited, and it's fantastic we get to mirror that and to tell that story."[27]
Robbo, played by John O'Neil,[28] was a transphobic inmate at HMP Hotten, where Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) was after accidentally stabbing Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) after being pushed by Josh Cope (Oisian Morgan) whilst holding a knife after chopping fruit. O'Neil's casting was announced on 2 July 2024,[28] two days before his first appearance, however the character was announced on 25 June 2024.[27] When Matty first arrived in prison, he kept being transgender to himself and confided in Les Carmichael (Stacy J Gough), however Robbo discovered that Matty was hiding something.[28] Robbo was curious to find out what Matty was hiding, so when he was visited by his wife, Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson), Robbo approached her and finds out his secret from her as she thinks he is Les.[28]
Palmisciano spoke about the importance of tackling transphobia in the plot, explaining that the show has aimed to portray "how vulnerable Matty can be in a situation like [Josh's taunts]. Not everyone is super accepting,"[27] he said, adding: "It is great Matty's got that support. It's lovely to tell, we showed the wedding recently, it was an exciting joyous moment. It looked so incredible on screen. But sometimes we need to show the flip side of that, how it could go the other way and could be quite cruel for someone like Matty. It shows the bigger picture of what it is like to be him. I was really excited, and it's fantastic we get to mirror that and to tell that story."[27] O'Neill and Palmisciano's relationship off-screen has been described to be more "harmonious."[29] Palmisciano posted behind the scenes photos on Instagram with O'Neill and Gough with the caption: "The nicest prison baddie @jk0_91 I could be working with and the best prison mate ever @goughstacey, hats off to you both."[29] O'Neill also posted some photos with the caption: "Had an absolute blast shooting on this job. We did laugh outside of the takes, promise."[29]
John Sugden, played by Oliver Farnworth, made his first appearance on 7 August 2024.[30] His casting was announced on 2 July 2024,[31] and he is the half-brother of Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins).[30] His arrival is set to "cause chaos"[31] for Victoria, who alongside her son Harry Sugden (Adam Pryor) and adoptive niece Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), are the only members of the Sugden family left in Emmerdale.[31] John's arrival is also due to "introduce a new generation of the long-running Sugden family, who have been in the programme since it debuted in 1972.[31] John is also set to "catch the eye"[31] of a particular Emmerdale resident, which will "cause lots of drama."[31] How John is related to Victoria had not been confirmed when Farnworth's casting was announced,[31] however on 29 July 2024, it was revealed that he was Victoria's half-brother.[30] His arrival is "bound to raise plenty of questions."[31] John's character has been described to be "brooding and mysterious"[31] and will introduce "fresh challenges and intriguing relationships" for those already living in the village.[31] It was confirmed on 31 July 2024 that John is "openly gay" and has a "military past" according to Farnworth.[32]
Emmerdale executive producer, Laura Shaw said that everyone at Emmerdale "thrilled to have an actor with Oliver's talent and presence join the Emmerdale family".[31] She also reflected on the significance of his place within the Sugden family, "the Sugdens have always been central to Emmerdale, and introducing a new member opens up exciting possibilities for future storylines. Mysterious John's arrival will no doubt create a stir in the village for Victoria and the wider community."[31] Farnworth has played roles in other soap operas, such as Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, and following those previous roles, Farnworth revealed he is "absolutely delighted to be joining the cast of Emmerdale. The show has such a rich history, and the Sugden family is integral to that. I'm looking forward to bringing my character to life and working with such a talented and dedicated team."[31]Danny Miller, who plays Aaron Dingle, reported to Digital Spy that his character will feature in scenes with John.[30] He reported: "There's a Sugden coming in. With the history that Aaron has with Robert, it'll be interesting to see what happens with them. It's going to be an interesting few months, which is great."[30] On 31 July 2024, Farnworth described more about his character: "He’s got a pretty amazing backstory. Obviously, half-brother to Victoria, which we find out quite quickly. But there’s a whole lot of depth to him, and little bits just kind of coming out now, but it’s been a whirlwind. I’ve been here, there and everywhere. I’ve been on all the sets. We’ve been on location, been driving vans, been getting up to all sorts of mischief. So, it’s been absolutely brilliant."[32] Farnworth also considered joining the cast of Emmerdale as a "fixture",[32] as he grew up in Yorkshire,[32] however Farnworth knows the history of the Sugden family, but had to "put it aside" because his character "initially has no knowledge of the Sugdens’ history in Emmerdale and he has no desire to be part of it."[32]
On 29 July 2024, it was confirmed that Farnworth would make his first appearance the following week.[30] He met Victoria after she gives Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) a lift the funeral of Barbara (Angela Down), an old friend of his, after his car breaks down.[30] After driving him there, she begins to talk to John, who is the deceased woman's son.[30] When he introduces himself as John Sugden, she realises that she has potentially met a long-lost family member.[30] As a result, Eric feels he needs to admit that John could be her half-brother, meaning he is the son of the late Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby).[30] Victoria and John are set to cross paths again afterwards, when Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), who works at the garage, receives a call regarding a breakdown nearby.[30] Mackenzie is due to rescue John and bring him back to the village, where Victoria is delighted to see him again.[30]
Helen Fox made her first appearance on the 17 September 2024. She is the estranged mother of Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly) who she hasn't seen in 30 years.[33] She is played by Sharon Maughan.[33] Helen's arrival has been described to expose Ruby and her husband Caleb Miligan's (William Ash) past.[33] Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Ash revealed that Helen and her husband cut Ruby out of their lives because they didn't approve of her relationship with Caleb.[33] Helen now wants to regain contact with Ruby because she's dying.[33] He explained: "They hated him because he’d come out of a care home, he didn’t have any family and thought he was beneath their daughter. So, Helen was really snobby and judgemental. Helen and Ruby’s dad gave Ruby an ultimatum. They basically said ‘look if you want to be with this boy then we don’t want anything to do with you’. They basically just cut Ruby dead."[33] Due to affect their potential reunion, Ash shared: "Because she’s been so manipulative and behaved terribly in the past, he just doesn’t trust anything that she’d ever say. He decides to go just to see what she actually wants – because if she is on her deathbed, then maybe Ruby does need some kind of closure and there’s a potential for sorting it out. As it turns out, that’s not what happens…"[33]
Discussing working with Maughan, Ash said: "She is an amazing actress because she only comes in for two episodes. We only had a day filming. We were doing all these intense scenes together in a hospital room, in a private hospital, just me and her going at each other really. She was amazing. It is hard to come into any show, to just do one day, and have lots of intense scenes. But she was fantastic and really a force of nature really."[33] When Caleb meets up with Helen, they both argue and neither are willing to back down, however Caleb makes a deal with her that he would bring Ruby to see her if she sends over £100,000.[33] When Caleb arrives home late, Ruby becomes suspicious and Caleb is left battling the guilt over the deal he's made with terminally-ill Helen, but doesn't mention anything to Ruby.[33] Ash explained what happens if Ruby finds out: "I think he knows that if she finds out he’s been to see Helen and he’s gone behind her back, she will be furious. There will be a real question of whether she can trust him ever again. The stakes are massive in that moment."[33]
Other characters
Character
Episode date(s)
Actor
Circumstances
Jules Jefferson
16 January
Wayne Cater
A managing director of Bargain Vets, who hosts a vets function at the Hide Bar & Bistro.
A man who met with Suzy Merton and Belle King at Take A Vow in to discuss planning his wedding. After their meeting, Daniel told Suzy she was right about Belle being his perfect wedding planner and arranged dinner with Belle to finalise their agreement to work together. Daniel later emailed Suzy and Belle that he's decided to not to work with them.
A loan shark who Amit Sharma owed money to. Amit met up with Dee, who was angry that Amit still hadn't got her money. Amit tried to explain he was having a cash flow problem, but Dee wasn't interested in his excuses. Dee gave Amit two days and if she didn't hear good news, they'd meet again and she'd bring a 'friend' with her. As they were talking, Dee and Amit heard a noise nearby, as Eric Pollard, who was suspicious after Amit tried to scam money from him, had followed them, but they didn't see him.
Jenny
2 May-3 June
Dianne Pilkington
A nurse who treated Evan Fletcher, who was admitted to hospital after Evan's mum Dawn Fletcher noticed a bruise on his leg, and was later diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Emily Masterson
6 May
Marilyn Cutts
A woman who goes into the veterinary with Thomas King (James Chase). He then tells her that the dog has cancer but this is revealed to be untrue, so she leaves and says she will find another vet.
Parking Attendant
20 May
Ian Gain
A parking attendant who starts bothering Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) about buying a parking ticket when the machine is broken, which frustrates him as he is in a hurry to see his son Evan (Malachi McKenzie), who is in hospital going through chemotherapy.
June Phillips
23 May
Tina Gray
The grandmother of a childhood friend of Ella Forster (Paula Lane), whom she visits in a care home as she has Dementia.
Related Research Articles
Rebecca Cordingly, known professionally as Beth Cordingly, is an English actress, known for her appearances in series The Bill, Dead Set, The Burning Girls and Emmerdale.
Victoria Sugden is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played since 12 October 2006 by Isabel Hodgins. As a young child, Victoria was played by Jessica Heywood until 1997, followed by Hannah Midgley from 1997 to 2006. Victoria is currently the longest serving female character on the soap. Her storylines have included surviving an explosion which she caused, being put in psychiatric care, being bullied at school, romancing Daz Eden, marrying Adam Barton, accidentally running over Ashley Thomas, coping when Adam goes on the run, falling in love with Adam's brother Matty and being the victim of rape during her night out in April 2019, leading to her pregnancy as a result and giving birth to a son named Harry.
Belle King is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Eden Taylor-Draper. Belle made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 25 December 1998, originally played by twins Emily and James Mather. James stopped appearing in the role in 2000 and Emily in 2005, at which point Taylor-Draper took over, remaining ever since. Belle has featured in various storylines throughout her time on the soap, such as falling down a mineshaft, killing her best friend Gemma Andrews, having an affair with doctor Jermaine Bailey, faking a pregnancy to prevent Jermaine from leaving after their affair is revealed, being diagnosed with schizophrenia, a relationship with Lachlan White, which ends after discovering he is a serial killer, and her mental health relapses. Belle married Thomas King in 2024, and it was announced that Belle would become part of a coercive control storyline.
Mandy Dingle-Kirk is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lisa Riley. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 July 1995 and departed on 28 September 2000. She returned briefly on 16 November 2001 and departed on 26 November 2001. After seventeen years, Riley agreed to reprise the role in late 2018 for a very brief stint, and made her on-screen return on 4 January 2019, and departed after three episodes on 8 January. On 10 July 2019, it was announced that Riley would be returning on a permanent basis, and Mandy reappeared from 12 September 2019.
Moira Dingle is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Natalie J. Robb. The actress successfully auditioned for the role after a call came through her agent. Robb's character and her family were created and introduced to Emmerdale as part of an overhaul of the show by the series producer Gavin Blyth. The Barton family took over the running of Butler's Farm and they were described as being "sexy, modern and contemporary". Robb first appeared as Moira during the episode broadcast on 17 July 2009.
Ella Hart is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Corrinne Wicks. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 November 2010. Ella is a businesswoman who is described as "sexy and savvy". She is the ex-wife of Declan Macey and mother of Mia. Wicks was written out of Emmerdale in 2011 and departed on 25 August.
Ross Barton is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Michael Parr. He made his first appearance in episode 6600 of the soap, broadcast on 9 July 2013. Ross first appears as the carjacker of Laurel Thomas, before being revealed to be the nephew of Moira Barton. The character is initially characterised as a bad boy and a "nasty piece of work". The softer side of Ross' personality is explored when he enters a secret relationship with police officer Donna Windsor, who has terminal cancer. When Donna dies, Ross bonds with her daughter April Windsor.
Ash Palmisciano is an English actor. He came out as transgender in 2012 and later became the first trans actor to appear on stage at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was later hired by the ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale to work as a story consultant for a trans storyline, but after impressing producers, he was instead cast on the soap. His character, Matty Barton, became the first trans character on Emmerdale and he won the Best Newcomer accolade at the Inside Soap Awards for his portrayal of Matty.
Ella Forster is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Paula Lane. The character and casting was announced in November 2023, with Lane beginning filming later that month. Lane made her first appearance as Ella on 16 January 2024. Lane did not need to audition for the role and she felt like she fit in Emmerdale due to being from Yorkshire herself. Lane wanted Ella to be seen as different from Kylie Platt, a character that Lane had portrayed on rival soap opera Coronation Street. Ella is introduced at a vet gala and immediately loses her job when she stands up for Mandy Dingle, who she becomes friends with. Lane was happy that Mandy and Ella develop a friendship and believed that Ella is a good friend to have. Ella then is offered a job at the new doctors surgery, where she develops a romance with her colleague, Liam Cavanagh. This later develops into a love triangle involving Chas Dingle. Since the announcement of the character, some critics and fans have felt that Ella is too nice and is hiding something, with Lane revealing that the character does have a secret that will be revealed. Some fans and critics have shared theories that Ella is connected to another character in the soap. However, Ella has also gained positive reception, with critics praising the character's personality and her introduction scenes.
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