List of Emmerdale characters (2021)

Emmerdale is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that debuted during 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the series producers Kate Brooks and Laura Shaw.^[1] Ethan Anderson (Emile John) is introduced in January as the son of vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin). Frankie is then born in February. In August, Rob Jarvis joined the cast as Wendy Posner's (Susan Cookson) ex-husband Russell, later followed by Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland), the sister of Sarah Sugden's (Katie Hill) heart donor. Additionally, multiple other characters appeared in 2021.

Ethan Anderson[]

Ethan Anderson,^[2] played by Emile John, made his first appearance in episode 8937, first broadcast on 7 January 2021.^[3] Ethan is introduced as the son of vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin).^[4] Ethan's character and casting details were announced on 26 November 2020, alongside that of Charles'. Ethan was described as "intelligent", and Digital Spy noted that he "inherited his father's strong sense of justice and worked hard to carve himself a successful law career".^[5] It was also stated that Ethan would be accused and arrested of a crime he did not commit, which would lead to a rivalry between himself and the established Dingle family.^[4] Ethan works at a law firm after years of "working hard for a successful career", and John confirmed that the storyline would have "consequences" on his career.^[6]

Producer Sophie Roper stated that Emmerdale are "delighted" to be welcoming John to the soap, and noted the "dynamic new father and son duo" will "send shockwaves through the village as they find themselves embroiled in the heart of a thought-provoking story with one of our most loved families", referring to the Dingle family. She added: "With two actors of such great calibre, they're certainly set to make their mark on the Dales."^[4] Producers later confirmed that Ethan will be a heavily featured character in 2021, with the younger cast getting a focus throughout the year,^[7] and Ethan set to have a "longer-term story arc" after the conclusion of the justice storyline.^[3] John stated that playing Ethan is "a dream", and on the storyline, he stated: "I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility in articulating his struggle with truth and authenticity and I can only hope that the audience fully engage with him in the same way I have."^[4] He added that Ethan's arrival in the village would be "far from quiet", and revealed that Ethan's presence in the village will have "huge consequences" for other characters.^[8]

Ethan attends a stag party with his friends at the Woolpack, where Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) hides a bag of drugs inside of his coat pocket, since she needs to get rid of the drugs quickly. When the police arrive at the party, they discover the drugs in his pocket, and this leads to Ethan getting arrested. He is later released on bail, but is suspended from his law firm, leading him to demand justice from Sarah. Charles advises him not to cause a rivalry between himself and the Dingle family, but feeling he has worked too hard for his career to be ruined, he continues to demand justice for himself.

Frankie Robinson []

Frankie Robinson is the daughter of Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) and Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh). Frankie first appears on 25 February 2021, when she is born.^[9] Tracy and Nate's relationship is initially not serious, so when she discovers she is pregnant, it results in divided feelings for the couple, but they go through with the pregnancy. Tracy goes into labour two weeks early in front of Nate's father Cain Dingle's (Jeff Hordley) and Cain's half-sister Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) at Cain's garage. Cain then drives Nate and Tracy to the hospital where she gives birth to Frankie. Nate is initially scared of becoming a father, until Cain talks to him.

In July 2020, it was announced that Tracy would become pregnant with Nate's baby. Of the storyline, Walsh said that for Tracy, the news "does come as a massive surprise and in general it's quite shocking news to hear". Digital Spy noted that it would bring back memories from her abortion from a previous relationship, and Walsh stated that she is "a bit older than she was then, she's a bit more strong and independent". On Tracy and Nate's relationship, Walsh commented that "neither of them really know how each other feels about each other – they've never properly told each other that they love each other or any of that – so it is very soon to be going into parenthood together. They know it's a bit ridiculous that this is where they're at in this stage of the relationship". Despite this, Walsh stated that both characters would be happy to be parents, and that they "know that they can do it".^[10] The baby is named Frankie after Tracy's father, Frank Clayton (Michael Praed). Carter said Nate is "absolutely ecstatic" about his daughter and added that Nate and Tracy want to do their best for Frankie, as neither of them have had much luck in life.^[9] Due to COVID restrictions, real babies were not allowed on-set, so the cast had to use fake babies and dolls to portray Frankie.^[9]

Russell Posner[]

Russell Posner, played by Rob Jarvis, made his first appearance on 17 August 2021. Jarvis' casting was announced on 12 August 2021, with his character being described as a "mystery newcomer" set to be involved in a storyline for Wendy Posner (Susan Cookson); his connection to Wendy was not initially revealed.^[11] His initial scenes see him approach Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon) for information on Wendy and he confirms that he will be sticking around in the village to see her.^[11] Russell was later confirmed to be Wendy's abusive ex-husband. He confronts Wendy about his dead mother leaving Harry Sugden (Brody and Teddy Hall) money in her will rather than him. He tells Wendy that if she does not help him to get the inheritance from Harry, her and Harry's mother Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) will "face consequences".^[12]

On 31 August 2021, it was confirmed that Russell would hold Wendy and Victoria hostage in a siege at the Hide café to get his money.^[13] Speaking about the plot, Jarvis said that Russell tells Wendy that he has been involved in an armed robbery and that the police are after him. Jarvis opined that Russell does not want to shoot anyone, but sees a siege as a last resort to getting the money he needs. The actor also felt that Russell would be capable of shooting someone due to the desperation of his situation. Despite the state of their relationship, Jarvis stated that his character likely still has feelings for Wendy, due to the pair sharing children together.^[14] Following the police being called to the siege, Russell is imprisoned and Jarvis made his final appearance on 16 September 2021.^[15]

Chloe Harris[]

Chloe Harris, played by Jessie Elland, made her first appearance on 20 August 2021.^[16] Elland's casting and the details surrounding Chloe's character were announced on 6 August 2021. Chloe is the sister of a woman named Gemma who died in a car accident; she is contacted by Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), who received the heart of her dead sibling as part of a transplant operation. It was confirmed that she would form friendships with Sarah and Noah Dingle (Jack Downham). Elland was told by her agent in May 2021 that she had received an audition for Emmerdale. She filmed a self-tape from home with her mother and a week later, she was invited to the studios for a screen test. This was Elland's first in-person audition, which she expressed her nervousness at. She performed a scene with cast member Karen Blick and a few weeks afterwards, Elland received a call to say she had received the part of Chloe. Elland looked forward to her costume and has admitted her jealousy for her character's wardrobe, praising the costume department at Emmerdale for their talent. Elland did not have to change her natural red hair for the role, which she was happy about due to not feeling she would look good with darker hair. Elland described Chloe as a sweet and genuine character who is eager to please people and form connections with them. Despite this upbeat persona, she said that Chloe struggles with various dark emotions such as anger and sadness due to her sad experiences throughout her life. She cited these experiences with making Chloe have a "sense of determination to go out and get what she wants".^[17]

Elland was asked by Metro's Duncan Lindsay if she was similar to or different from her character; she initially felt that Chloe is very different from her in real life. The actress saw Chloe as "more naive, vulnerable, and super sweet" than herself, as well as having a fancy car and numerous Swarovski bracelets.^[17] However, as she got more into her tenure, Elland began to see similarities to her character. Elland felt that she is as determined as her character and noticed that both her and Chloe value sisterhood; both between Chloe and Gemma and a newly-found sisterhood between Chloe and Sarah. Speaking more on Chloe's bond with Sarah, Elland explained that Chloe wants to know Sarah from a place of desperation. She is desperate to talk about her dead sister Gemma since her family have denied her the chance to do so; she also "wants the reassurance that something good came from something so awful".^[17]

Other characters[]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Characters and cast at itv.com
• Characters and cast at IMDb