List of Emmerdale characters (2019)

Vinny Dingle (also Ashdale), played by Bradley Johnson, first appears on 4 January 2019.[2] The character and Johnson's casting details were announced on 28 December 2018.[3] Vinny is introduced as the 16-year-old son of Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley), who returns after a 17-year absence, having lived in Southampton with her son.[3] Riley explained that Vinny is similar to Mandy, creating "a lot of scope" and big stories.[3] The actress praised Johnson and enjoyed working with him, describing the prospect of Vinny's future stories as exciting.[3]

Since Mandy had sex with her former husband Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) before leaving in 2001, it is suggested that he could be Vinny's father. Allison Jones of Inside Soap predicted that the identity of Vinny's father could "blow the Dingles apart".[4] When Paddy meets Vinny, he does not question if he could be his son. Brunt confirmed that the writers had not decided how to conclude the story.[4] Lucy Pargeter, who portrays Paddy's partner Chas Dingle, thought that Vinny's paternity could "go in any direction" and could have implications for Paddy's relationship with her son Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).[5]

Vinny departed in the episode broadcast on 8 January 2019.[6] Following his exit, Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy described Vinny as "bumbling and awkward" and thought he resembled Paddy, believing the character's parentage would be a good storyline in the future.[6] Kilkelly enjoyed Johnson's portrayal of Vinny and thought that there was scope for Vinny to be "a great character in his own right", adding that the soap was missing "a comic young male presence" following the death of Gerry Roberts (Shaun Thomas).[6]

When Vinny discovers that Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) has pawned a wedding ring that belonged to Samson's dead mother, Vinny covers for him so that Sam Dingle (James Hooton) is not upset. When Sam threatens to throw Vinny out, Samson reveals that it was him. Upon confiding in Sam, Samson and Lydia Hart (Karen Blick), he reveals that Mandy is not his birth mother, but his stepmother, and that Paul Ashdale (Reece Dinsdale) is his father. Vinny became an official Dingle after drinking out of the welly boot on Sam and Lydia's wedding. However, his real last name was revealed after Mandy stated Paul's last name was Ashdale.

Bear Wolf, Otherwise known as "Edward" played by Joshua Richards, first appears in February 2019.[7] The character was referenced on-screen during January 2019 episodes, where it was suggested that he could be the father of Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) following an affair with Paddy's mother.[8] Richards' casting details were announced on 15 January 2019.[7] Bear is introduced when Paddy's partner, Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), and friend, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), encourage him to meet him in Belfast at a wrestling convention.[7] He is billed as a "ageing pro wrestler".[7] Multiple members of the Emmerdale cast filmed scenes in Northern Ireland for Bear's introduction.[7] Richards expressed his delight at joining the cast and filming in Yorkshire. He added that Bear is "a great character".[7] Series producer Kate Brooks also expressed her excitement at Richards' casting, commenting, "An actor of immense talent and charisma, he's a brilliant addition to the Emmerdale team."[7]

Will Taylor, portrayed by Dean Andrews, first appears on 17 April 2019.[9] Andrews' casting details were announced on 21 January 2019,[10] but further details about the character, including his name, were embargoed until his first appearance.[11] Will is the father of established character Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) and the former husband of Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton), who was an undercover police officer during her marriage to Will and assisted in his arrest.[11] The character is also introduced as a rival for Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).[10] Andrews expressed his delight at joining the cast of Emmerdale, which executive producer Jane Hudson also reiterated. She praised his performances and teased that he would "shake things up" for some characters.[10] Andrews later admitted that he found it hard to keep his role a secret and looked forward to exploring the character.[11]

Prior to his introduction, Harriet began being tormented by an unknown person. When Dean arrives, it emerges that Will is the tormenter and he and Dawn are working together to get revenge on Harriet for sending Will to prison.[10] Andrews told Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that Will is resentful towards Harriet for sending him to prison, partly because it meant he became estranged from Dawn. The actor wanted to explore Will's emotional state.[10] Dow Blyton observed that Harriet does not expect to see Will again and explained that Will and Dawn "want her to suffer as much as they have; they want to ruin her life."[12] The actress added that Harriet would try to "reach out" to Will after discovering he is responsible because she naturally seeks the best in people.[12]

Nate Robinson, portrayed by Jurell Carter, made his first appearance on 25 April 2019. The character was introduced during the Big Night Out week of episodes, where he shares a kiss with Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry).[13] He later secures a job working on Moira Dingle's (Natalie J. Robb) farm and pursues a relationship with Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson). He later begins a sexual affair with Moira behind Amy and Cain Dingle's (Jeff Hordley) backs. After Cain learns of the affair, he takes Moira and Nate out on a boat to confront them. As he and Nate fight, Nate reveals that he is Cain's son. Months later Nate is accidentally shot by his father Cain.

Nate later makes up to his family after the revenge scheme on his father.

After Moira Barton’s (Natalie J Robb) hit and run accident, Nate takes the blame for the incident after Belle was charged with 4 offences. Nate was given a 2 year suspended sentence and an 80 hour community order along with a 6 month driving ban.

Prior to filming on Emmerdale for the first time, Carter said that he prepared to meet the cast by watching interviews online.[14] Talking about his character, Carter stated that "Nate is a very loyal character" who "definitely does like the ladies",[15] and that he is a "young jack the lad type of guy". On Nate's rivalry with father Cain, Carter explained that Nate is "physically big plus he's mentally a strong character and very streetwise", and a " great match for Cain".[14] He also revealed that prior to appearing in a scene that required Nate to swim, Carter had to learn to swim in real life.[16] Following viewers' dislike for Nate, Carter spoke out about hurtful comments he has received as a result of his character, explaining that "lines were blurred and it became a bit personal". Due to the online comments being made about him, he "made the decision not to even look" at what was being said.[17]

Andrea Tate, played by Anna Nightingale, first appears on 3 June 2019.[18] The character and Nightingale's casting details were announced on 28 May 2019.[19] Andrea is introduced as the wife of Jamie Tate (Alexander Lincoln), alongside their daughter Millie Tate (Willow Bell).[19] She also becomes a new rival for Jamie's mother, Kim Tate (Claire King).[20] Lincoln billed Andrea as fiery, "less innocent than Jamie", and protective of Jamie.[20] He added that Andrea is not as "manipulative" as Kim, but she will "not [...] take any nonsense from [Kim]".[20] Nightingale also teased her character's romantic side, describing her as "a harmless flirt [who] loves her husband".[21] Lincoln thought Andrea's characterisation made her an "interesting" character.[20] Nightingale enjoyed working with her on-screen family and hoped that writers would place Andrea in friendships with Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi), Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh), Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) and Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade).[21] Imogen Groome, writing for the Metro, predicted that Andrea's arrival would create "some explosive drama".[19]

Prior to the character's introduction, she was not referenced; Lincoln explained that Jamie does not mention his wife because he "wanted to keep his wife and daughter away from everyone in the village".[22] Andrea and Jamie's marriage is strained upon her arrival as he has ignored her attempts at contact in the previous weeks. Lincoln did not believe that Jamie intentionally ignored his family, but also pointed out that Jamie failed to tell Andrea about what he was doing in the village.[22] Jamie wants Andrea and Millie to relocate to the village, so gets Andrea a job and moves the family into Home Farm, which Lincoln said would create "a bit of conflict".[22]

In their fictional backstory, Andrea and Jamie have been married for five years and met at university in Liverpool.[22] It soon emerges that after Kim asked Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) to look after Jamie when she was imprisoned, Graham employed Andrea to do the job, having met her in a local bar.[23] However, when Andrea fell in love with Jamie, she cut contact with Graham and he had not seen her since.[23] Nightingale noted that when she and Graham meet again, Andrea understands that her disappearance has "reprecussions".[21] She also pointed out that Graham is a "pretty terrifying" character who Andrea should be afraid of.[21]

Andrea clashes with Kim after scaring one of her horses, leaving Jamie "stuck in the middle of some awkward conversations".[19] Kim is surprised to discover that Jamie has a family, which does not ease the tension between Andrea and Kim. Lincoln observed that Kim thinks "Jamie can do much better".[20] Due to Jamie and Kim's estranged relationship, Andrea does not expect him to be close with his mother.[22] Lincoln thought that Andrea was "annoyed" by Kim's presence in Jamie's life considering their history,[20] but Nightingale explained that although Andrea feels "secure" in her marriage, she is also "cautious" of Kim.[21] Lincoln added that Jamie becomes "stuck between these women" as they both want the best for him.[20] Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap predicted "plenty of spiky showdowns between [Andrea] and her overbearing mother-in-law!"[21]

Millie Tate, played by Willow Bell, first appears on 3 June 2019.[24] The character and Bell's casting details were announced on 28 May 2019.[19] Willow is introduced as the five-year-old daughter of established character Jamie Tate (Alexander Lincoln) and Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale), the latter of whom she is introduced with.[19][22] Lincoln billed Millie as "a bossy one" who further complicates Jamie's life.[20] Writers did not mention Millie and Andrea prior to their introduction to create a surprise for the audience when they discovered Jamie had a family.[20] Millie and her family move into the Home Farm estate, where Jamie's estranged mother, Kim Tate (Claire King), lives. Lincoln explained that Jamie wants Millie to grow up in the village.[22] Kim struggles with Millie's existence as she did not expect to be a grandmother. On this, Lincoln commented, "Kim really doesn't like being called grandma. She hates it!"[20]

Wendy Posner, played by Susan Cookson, first appears on 1 July 2019.[25] The character and Cookson's casting details were announced on 19 June 2019.[26] Wendy is introduced as the mother of Lee Posner (Kris Mochrie), who is the rapist of Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins).[26] Cookson expressed her delight at joining the cast and called Wendy "a fantastic character" with "gritty and emotional storylines".[26] Jane Hudson, the soap's executive producer, called Cookson a "fabulous addition to the cast" and looked forward to the character's introduction.[27] Cookson previously appeared in Emmerdale in 1993, 1997 and 2003 as minor characters.[26]

The character is billed as "indignant" by Inside Soap.[28] Wendy arrives to confront Victoria about the rape allegations, which she claims are false.[27] Hodgins explained that when Wendy arrives, Victoria is "shock and scared" because Wendy is the "enemy".[28] The actress pointed out that Wendy has Lee's interests "at heart".[28] Wendy leaves when Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) confronts her.[28] When Wendy returns the following day with Lee, they discover that Victoria is pregnant with Lee's baby. Hodgins told Allison Jones of Inside Soap that this is "opening a can of worms that Victoria wanted to keep closed".[28] Victoria later agrees to speak to Wendy, who reveals that she wants a role in the child's life and suggests that Lee could go for custody of the baby.[29] A show spokesperson noted that this is "the worst scenario as far as Victoria is concerned".[29]

Al Chapman, played by Michael Wildman, first appears on 13 August 2019.[30] The character and Wildman's casting details were announced on 14 July 2019.[31] Al is introduced as the estranged father of Ellis Chapman (Asan N'Jie) and the former husband of Jessie Dingle (Sandra Marvin).[31] Wildman began filming on a regular contract in July 2019.[31] Wildman expressed his joy at joining the cast and was unsure about how well-received his character, who he called "interesting", would be.[31] Wildman and N'Jie also starred on Ready Player One together and N'Jie found the connection between their characters "surreal".[32] Wildman previously performed a screen test for a different character, but was unsuccessful.[31]

Wildman billed the character as "ambiguous" and a "judge of character".[31] He explained that Al is manipulative and able to "talk to five people at the same time and talk to them all in different ways".[31] Al arrives to connect with Ellis and Wildman explained that Al "thinks he can just come back in to his life and pick up where he left off".[31] He noted that the character would arrive "ruffling a few feathers".[31] The actor added that Al quickly makes Jessie's husband, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), feel "insecure".[31]

Luke Posner, played by Max Parker, first appeared on 29 August 2019.[33] Luke is the brother of Lee Posner (Kris Mochrie), and the son of Wendy Posner (Susan Cookson).[34] Parker's casting details were not announced prior to his first on-screen appearance, and Luke's relatives were kept a secret from viewers.[35] Luke meets Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins) in the hospital while working in the hospital canteen. Both Luke and Victoria are unaware of who the other person is, but when it transpires that Luke's brother Lee raped Victoria and she is pregnant with Lee's baby, the pair split. Luke accompanies Wendy in moving to Emmerdale village, and when he reconciles with Victoria, Wendy is upset with him. Wendy believes that Victoria is lying about being raped, but Luke insists that he knows his brother did it. Luke begins working as a chef at the Woolpack. When Luke and Victoria have sex, she expresses that she feels uncomfortable with being intimate, and the pair split.

Parker originally auditioned for the part of Jamie Tate, which was given to Alexander Lincoln.[36] He stated: "Originally I had auditioned to play Jamie Tate, which was funny. At the time they did so many rounds – more than usual, I think – and they just couldn't find anybody. In the screen test, that was the first time I saw Alex Lincoln who plays Jamie and I was like: 'He's not been in any of the auditions!' Pretty much when they told him that he'd got that, they said: 'We would like you to play Luke. We've been writing this character, it would be really good for you'. But there was a gap before I started."[37] He added: "I just knew my relation – I knew the whole time when Luke was in the canteen at the hospital, but there was no agenda though. A lot of people were saying that Luke knew from the start about Victoria, but it was definitely innocent flirting in the canteen."[37] On his character, Parker commented: "I relate Luke a lot to myself. He's very assured, he's very cheeky and a showman, but there's definitely some cogs broken inside. I don't think you've seen all sides of Luke just yet."[38]

In January 2021, it was confirmed Emmerdale would explore Luke’s sexuality via his past connection with recently introduced character Ethan Anderson (Emile John). This followed the real-life coming-out of actor Max Parker, who is gay. In the narrative, Luke is introduced by partner Victoria to Ethan, hiding that they have met; scenes later in the same episode see Ethan comment on Luke’s “sham” relationship with Victoria as well as his past affairs with both Ethan himself and another mutual acquaintance, which Luke dismisses as “history” and affirms that he is now straight.

Danny Harrington,[39] played by Louis Healy, first appears on 16 September 2019.[40] The character and Healy's casting details were announced on 3 September 2019.[40] Danny is introduced as a love interest for teenage character Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill).[40] Healy was contracted for a guest stint, which Tilly Pearce of the Metro confirmed would last a "few months".[41] The character, who is billed as a "new boy-next-door", will feature in a "sinister" storyline with Sarah.[41] As a result of spending time with Danny, Sarah soon neglects her studies, creating tension with her grandmother, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).[42] Radio Times' Johnathon Hughes described Danny as the "school heart-throb".[42] Pearce warned that Sarah should be cautious around Danny.[41]

Danny and Sarah initially talk to each other online, and when they begin meeting in person, Sarah skips school to spend more time with him. Charity and her partner Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) warn Danny to stay away from Sarah, but after Sarah explains that she meets with him due to fearing she will die young from her Fanconi anaemia, and that she wants to enjoy herself. Charity allows her to continue seeing Danny, and when she invites him to a party, he gives her drugs. He later convinces Sarah to sell drugs for him, claiming he will get beaten up if he does not deliver his selling targets, showing her injuries on his body. Danny's friend later informs Sarah that the injury was from falling from his bike, and realising she has been used, Sarah plants drugs in his pocket and reports him to the police. He is later sent to prison. Upon his release, he sends Sarah a text message.

Derek Malone, played by Tommy Cannon, first appears on 19 September 2019.[43] Cannon announced on Twitter in August 2019 that he would be appearing in Emmerdale, but deleted his tweet shortly after.[44] In the tweet, he expressed his delight at his casting. A show spokesperson declined to comment on Cannon's casting.[44] Further details about Cannon's casting and the character were announced on 3 September 2019.[40] Derek is introduced as a patient of established character Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker).[40] Cannon was contracted for a guest stint, which was billed to create "serious consequences" for other regular characters.[40] Cannon's casting was well received by the press and media and Emmerdale cast members congratulated him.[44]

It was later confirmed that Derek would be killed off at the conclusion of his stint, sparking a new story for the Sharma family.[45] He dies from Salmonella poisoning after eating Rishi Sharma's (Bhasker Patel) homemade chocolates, which also makes David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) ill. When Manpreet sorts Derek's belongings, she discovers a valuable stamp collection which could help the family's financial crisis.[45] The character departed in episode 8606, originally broadcast on 30 September 2019.[46] Kyle O'Sullivan of the Daily Mirror dubbed Derek's death as "gruesome".[47]

• Characters and cast at itv.com
• Characters and cast at the Internet Movie Database