List of Emmerdale characters introduced in 2024

Ella Forster, played by Paula Lane, made her first appearance on 16 January 2024. The character and casting was announced on 21 November 2023, with it being reported that Lane would begin filming that same month. 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". ==Ruby Fox-Miligan==

Ruby Miligan (also Fox-Miligan), played by Beth Cordingly, made her first appearance on 25 January 2024. Ruby is the wife of Caleb Miligan (William Ash) and the mother of his son, Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope). 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. The following month, the character was officially announced by Shaw at an Emmerdale press event, though the portrayer of the character was not revealed. The character was later billed as "fiery, confident, unpredictable and a fiercely devoted mum." Ruby has tried to rebuild bridges with Steph since her arrival, but Anthony's presence in the village makes her uneasy. Speaking about the flashback episode, Emmerdale producer, Laura Shaw said: "Ruby has always been troubled and volatile in nature, and finally our audience will be able to learn more about the past that has haunted her and made Ruby the woman she is today." For her role as Ruby, Cordingly was longlisted for "Best Newcomer" and "Best Villain" at the 2024 Inside Soap Awards. Of the character's arrival, Claire Crick from What to Watch wrote that "Fans' prayers have been answered". 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." ==Rose Jackson==

Rose Jackson, played by Christine Tremarco, made her first appearance on 25 April 2024. 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). Tyler's colleague, Gary Gillatt, called Rose "wonderfully bumptious" and said that she was "seemingly invented to spit venom at Kim". Chloe Timms from the same magazine believed that Rose had "Faith Dingle energy". ==Josh Cope==

Josh Cope, played by Osian Morgan, made his first appearance on the 3 June 2024. His casting was announced on 23 May 2024, 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). Josh begins to flirt with Amy, which makes her feel uncomfortable and subsequently decided to leave work early as she can't cope with Josh's constant flirting. as Josh was only introduced three days before the stabbing took place. He also said that Josh has "a hold on Samson" 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." 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." ==Les Carmichael==

Les Carmichael, portrayed by Stacy J Gough, was Matty Barton's (Ash Palmisciano) cellmate in HMP Hotten. Gough's casting was announced on 25 June 2024, 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. He confirms that he will mind his own business regarding Matty's life, but warns him that other prisoners aren't so kind. He also protects Matty from another inmate named Robbo (John O'Neil), who tries to get the lowdown on Matty. 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," 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." ==Robbo==

Robbo, played by John O'Neil, was a transphobic inmate at the prison 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, Palmisciano posted behind the scenes photos on Instagram with O'Neill and Gough with the caption: "The nicest prison baddie I could be working with and the best prison mate ever, hats off to you both." 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." ==John Sugden==

John Sugden, played by Oliver Farnworth, made his first appearance on 7 August 2024. His casting was announced on 2 July 2024, and he is the half-brother of Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins). 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". 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." 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." Danny Miller, who plays Aaron Dingle, reported to Digital Spy that his character will feature in scenes with John. 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." 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." Farnworth also considered joining the cast of Emmerdale as a "fixture", as he grew up in Yorkshire, 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.". On 11 August 2025, it was announced that Farnworth had quit his role as John, just after a year on the show and would leave once his storyline had ended. ==Peter Mansfield==

Peter Mansfield, portrayed by David Michaels, is Kim Tate's (Claire King) financial advisor whom she slept with after her husband, Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) cheated on her with his ex-wife Rose Jackson (Christine Tremarco). It was later revealed that Will and Peter have been plotting to take down Kim. He made his first appearance on 2 September 2024. On 24 November 2024, it was revealed that it was Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) who was "pulling the strings" as described by Helen Daly from Radio Times. ==Helen Fox==

Helen Fox made her first appearance on 17 September 2024. She is the estranged mother of Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly) who she hasn't seen in 30 years. She is played by Sharon Maughan. Helen's arrival has been described to expose Ruby and her husband Caleb Miligan's (William Ash) past. 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, as he was from a care home and they thought he was "beneath" her. 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." Due to affect their potential reunion, Ash explained that Caleb does not trust Helen: "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…" Ash spoke about working with Maughan: "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." He also said how this meeting would make Ruby feel: "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." Helen died on 18 September 2024. Maughan reprised the role of Helen for flashback scenes showing Ruby's past on 12 December 2024. ==DS Foy==

Detective Sergeant Foy, played by Robert Cavanah, is a police officer who is investigating Belle King's (Eden Taylor-Draper) attack on her husband, Thomas King (James Chase). Carena Crawford reported: "New Emmerdale detective DS Foy has impressed viewers who are pleased there’s finally a police officer in the soap who knows what he’s doing! They like him so much they are demanding he becomes a regular character – but then no one would get away with anything!" ==Jade Garrick==

Jade Garrick, played by Twinnie-Lee Moore, made her first appearance on 11 October 2024. Moore's casting was announced earlier that day, She will be a part of Billy Fletcher's (Jay Kontzle) boxing storyline, where he has been taking part in unlicensed boxing matches. Moore spoke about her casting in Emmerdale: "My life has been a bit crazy recently juggling music and acting with lots of back and forth between Nashville and Yorkshire but I've been loving it! I've loved being back on screen, especially as the show is shot in Yorkshire, being able to be home with family and go to work on such an iconic show has been nothing short of amazing! The whole team has been so welcoming and really supportive. My character is so much fun to play and I can't wait to see how the audience reacts to her." with some recognising her from her Hollyoaks role as series regular, Porsche McQueen. During an illegal fight between Billy and Ross Barton (Michael Parr), £10,000 was stolen from Jade. As a result, she goes after Ross believing he stole the money, when it was actually Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb). For revenge, Jade and her henchmen abducted April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and dangled her over the edge of the multi-storey car park where her mother and Ross' ex-girlfriend, Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth) was dangled over by Gary North (Fegus O'Donnell) where both subsequently died ten years earlier. These scenes received 62 Ofcom complaints. ==Deano==

Deano, portrayed by Luke Delaney, was introduced as part of Ross Barton's (Michael Parr) illegal fighting storyline. Delaney's casting was announced on 30 October 2024, however the name of his character hadn't been announced. His agency, Atius Management posted: "We are delighted to share the news that our brilliant Luke Delaney has been busy filming a major guest lead role on Emmerdale which will hit our screens soon." Delaney made his appearance on 7 November 2024. This was Delaney's second role after playing a Masseuse in 2020. Deano was seen at an illegal fight organised by Ross at ''Butler's Farm'', where he brought Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) along in case things went wrong. The events did get out of hand which leads to Deano punching Aaron, critically injuring him. ==Steph Miligan==

Steph Miligan, played by Georgia Jay, made her first appearance on the 15 November 2024, she is the estranged daughter of Caleb Miligan (William Ash) and Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly), who is due to arrive with her grandfather Anthony Fox (Nicholas Day). Jay and Day's castings were announced on 2 November 2024 and their arrivals were described to have "far-reaching repercussions" for the Miligan family. ==Anthony Fox==

Anthony Fox, played by Nicholas Day, Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy announced: "The evil villain is murdered after news of his crimes spreads around the village, leaving several suspects in the frame." Two suspects revealed were Ruby's husband, Caleb Miligan (William Ash) and sister-in-law, Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) who discover the abuse that Anthony subjected her to as a child. Other suspects named by Kilkelly were: Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler), Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller). ==Karl==

Karl, portrayed by Charles Dale, is a member of the jury, who appeared in court at Tom King's (James Chase) trial, which aired on 19 December 2024. His casting was announced on 12 November 2024, alongside Denise Welch, who played jury member, Heidi, and Jack Ellis, who also played a jury member named Kenneth. Iona Rowan from Digital Spy reported: "Emmerdale has confirmed three big guest stars who will be involved in the conclusion of Tom and Belle King's (Eden Taylor-Draper) abuse storyline." Unlike Welch, who had already been announced to be portraying a jury member, Ellis and Dale's characters were left "undisclosed," however both were confirmed to also be jury members on 5 December 2024. Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw confirmed the soap would "break from its usual format in the special episode by sharing the real stories of domestic abuse victims and survivors." ==Heidi==

Heidi, portrayed by Denise Welch, is a member of the jury, who appeared in court at Tom King's (James Chase) trial on 19 December 2024. Her casting was announced on 12 November 2024, alongside Jack Ellis, who played jury member, Kenneth, and Charles Dale, who also played a jury member named Karl. Iona Rowan from Digital Spy reported: "Emmerdale has confirmed three big guest stars who will be involved in the conclusion of Tom and Belle King's (Eden Taylor-Draper) abuse storyline." Upon casting, Welch had already been announced to be a jury member, whereas Ellis and Dale's characters were left "undisclosed." Rowan also described Welch's casting to "add to Welch's already-long list of soap acting credits, with the star having previously had roles in Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Doctors, Casualty, and Holby City." Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw confirmed the soap would "break from its usual format in the special episode by sharing the real stories of domestic abuse victims and survivors." Welch commented on her casting and excitedly told her audience on Loose Women, whom she is a regular panellist on: "I'm going to be in Emmerdale! It's a one-off one hour special and it's the first time Emmerdale have ever done it. And for those of you who are fans of Emmerdale, there is a very powerful year-long story of domestic abuse. Which of course, appealed to me when I knew I'd be part of it because of our Facing It Together campaign, and this is a culmination of that story." She continued: "The episode takes place exclusively between the court and the jury and I am one of the head's of the jury called Heidi. Obviously, I can't say what the outcome is, but it's a very, very powerful episode and some of the lines are taken from true cases. Refuge have seen it and they're thrilled with how it's been depicted so it was incredible to be a part of it, and that's on I think December 19." Katie Wilson from The Mirror described Welch's Emmerdale role to be a "milestone." ==Kenneth==

Kenneth, portrayed by Jack Ellis, is a member of the jury, who appeared in court at Tom King's (James Chase) trial, which aired on 19 December 2024. His casting was announced on 12 November 2024, alongside Denise Welch, who played jury member, Heidi, and Charles Dale, who played a jury member named Karl. Iona Rowan from Digital Spy reported: "Emmerdale has confirmed three big guest stars who will be involved in the conclusion of Tom and Belle King's (Eden Taylor-Draper) abuse storyline." Unlike Welch, who had already been announced to be portraying a jury member, Ellis and Dale's characters were left "undisclosed," however both were confirmed to also be jury members on 5 December 2024. Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw confirmed the soap would "break from its usual format in the special episode by sharing the real stories of domestic abuse victims and survivors." ==Anna Finsbury==

Anna Finsbury, portrayed by Rhea Bailey, is a family liaison officer who visits Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry) after the disappearance of April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan). She made her first appearance on 30 December 2024. Bailey's casting was announced on 16 December 2024 by her agency. Jade Brown from Emmerdale Insider suggested that Bailey's role would be substantial. Brown also reported Anna "didn't have the news the family were hoping for" regarding finding April. ==Other characters==