List of Emmerdale characters (2023)
Emmerdale is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972.[1] The following is a list of characters that first appeared during 2023, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producer, Jane Hudson.[2] January saw the introduction of Marshall Hamston (Max Fletcher), a classmate of Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke). Gus Malcolm (Alan McKenna) debuted in April as the ex-husband of Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry). Later in the year, Flo Wilson is set to debut as Claudette, the mother of Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin). Additionally, multiple other characters appeared throughout the year.
Marshall Hamston
Marshall Hamston, played by Max Fletcher, first appeared on 5 January 2023. He was introduced as a classmate of Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke), who has a crush on Marshall. In a "cruel bet" arranged by Marshall's friends, he pretends to like Arthur back, but when Arthur learns the truth, he is left devastated.[3] Arthur's friend, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), punches Marshall in the face and Arthur's mother, Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), tries to stop them from contacting each other again. Weeks later, Marshall confesses to Arthur that he does like him romantically, but as the pair lean in for a kiss, they are interrupted by a phonecall from Marshall's father and he runs away. This formed the start of a "hard-hitting storyline" that sees Marshall's father, Colin Hamston (Mark Noble) become abusive as a result of his homophobic views.[4] After Colin tries to force Marshall to go to boarding school and isolates him from everybody, Laurel forces her way into their home and takes Marshall to live with her. Leeds Live wrote that viewers "have taken to" Marshall and were rooting for him and Arthur to become a couple eventually.[4]
Gus Malcolm
Gus Malcom, played by Alan McKenna, made his first appearance on 5 April 2023.[5] He was introduced as the ex-husband of Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry). The pair were married off-screen in the 2000s, in the time between Henry's two stints on the soap.[6] It was said that Gus' arrival will "tug at the heartstrings" for Rhona when he unexpectedly interrupts a date between her and husband Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock).[7] Gus catches up with Rhona the next day, with the request to use one of their frozen embryos for his new wife they still have stored, which Rhona thought had been destroyed. She is shocked to learn that the embryos still exist and later becomes horrified when she learns that Gus has contacted the clinic pretending to already have her consent.[7]
Speaking on Gus and Rhona's marriage, Henry said that their ending was not happy. She explained that they both wanted children and due to stressful rounds of IVF, Rhona left him and the divorce went on for years. She stated that his arrival brings back memories of a turbulent and unpleasant time in Rhona's life which she thought had ended. She also said: "While Rhona is thrilled Gus is happily remarried, him suggesting she allows him to use these embryos - and his wife carry the child - is enormously complicated".[8]
Claudette
Claudette | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emmerdale character | |||||||||
Portrayed by | Flo Wilson | ||||||||
Classification | Future; regular | ||||||||
Introduced by | Jane Hudson | ||||||||
|
Claudette, played by Flo Wilson, is set to make her first appearance in 2023. She will be introduced as the mother of established character Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin). Emmerdale announced her casting on 24 April 2023, with Wilson having begun filming on the soap that month. On the character, ITV wrote: "Claudette is a force to be reckoned with and totally unafraid to speak her mind. She is deeply proud of her son Charles' position as a vicar and grandson Ethan's (Emile John) legal career. She believes herself to be a loving matriarch, but secretly Charles finds his mother rather overbearing and soon the other villagers will learn not to get on the wrong side of Claudette."[9]
Executive producer Jane Hudson hinted that Claudette's arrival on Emmerdale would impact the drama of the Anderson family unit and was excited for viewers to be introduced to her. Wilson felt blessed to be cast on the serial and hoped that her work would make the cast and crew proud. Mathurin, who portrays Claudette's son Charles, had worked with Wilson prior to their Emmerdale stints. Of her casting as Claudette, he said: "when I saw her name on the sheet I knew she'd be perfect to bring Claudette to life. Flo is a wonderful soul, an amazing actress and is already settling in."[9]
Other characters
Character | Episode date(s) | Actor | Circumstances |
---|---|---|---|
Gus | 6 January | Rhys Walker[10] | Two of Marshall Hamston's (Max Fletcher) friends who bully Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) for being gay. |
Tom | 6, 30 January | Toby Fullman[10] | |
Faye Helders | 23 January–present | Jane Gurnett[11] | A woman who goes on a date with Mary Goskirk (Louise Jameson). Afterwards, they agree to see each other again. |
Clare | 21–27 March | Lucy Thatcher[12] | A woman who Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) see being handed money by Alex Moore (Liam Boyle). Belle and Chas tell Naomi Walters (Karene Peter), Alex's girlfriend, who confronts Alex. Alex brings Naomi to meet Clare and her son. Clare explains to Naomi that Alex is friends with her son's dad when he was in prison and that Alex helps her financially. This is later revealed to be a lie when Alex meets with Clare, revealing that the pair are secretly in a relationship. The pair plan to rob the local surgery of drugs in order to pay off their drug debt. |
Reuben Harris[13] | 20 April–present | Uncredited | The son of Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland) and Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb). |
References
- "Top Emmerdale storylines for 2022 as soap celebrates its 50th anniversary". Entertainment Daily. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Morris, Lauren (12 January 2022). "Emmerdale bosses tease final twist in Meena tale: "Judgement Day is coming"". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Denby, Laura (6 January 2023). "Emmerdale's Arthur devastated as schoolmate crush uses him for a bet". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Mwitumwa, Monde (17 March 2023). "Emmerdale Marshall Hamston actor Max Fletcher's life away from soap from little-known TV roles to real age". Leeds Live. (Reach plc). Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Meyer, Tamzin. "Emmerdale: Who is Alan McKenna who plays Rhona's ex-husband Gus? What else has he been in?". Entertainment Daily. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- Barrett, Kerry (28 March 2023). "Rhona Goskirk in Emmerdale: How many times has she been married?". Entertainment Daily. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Bacon, Jess (28 March 2023). "Emmerdale's Rhona Goskirk to receive a big shock after her ex-husband visits". Digital Spy. (Hearst Communications). Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Hughes, Johnathon (1–7 April 2023). "Rhona's baby bomshell!". Inside Soap. p. 30.
- "Emmerdale Casts Flo Wilson as Claudette". ITVX. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- Spackman, Maisie (6 January 2023). "Emmerdale spoilers: Arthur crushed as he's set up by the boy he likes in cruel date trick". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Shaw, Megan (13 April 2023). "Emmerdale Faye actress Jane Gurnett's life off air - from famous ex and 'miracle' baby to rival soap stint". Leeds Live. (Reach plc). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- Spackman, Maisie (21 March 2023). "Emmerdale spoilers: Alex's plan confirmed ahead of deadly hit and run". Metro. (DMG Media). Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- Lindsay, Duncan (20 April 2023). "Emmerdale spoilers: Laurel's terror, Nicky's violence and a shock for Belle". Metro. (DMG Media). Retrieved 20 April 2023.