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 Harshall Hamston (Max Fletcher), a classmate of Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke). Gus is set to debut in April as the ex-husband of Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry). 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 is set to make his first appearance in April 2023. He will be 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.[5] 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).[6] 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. She learns that Gus has contacted the clinic pretending to already have her consent.[6]

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".[7]

Other characters
Character Episode date(s) Actor Circumstances
Gus 6 January Rhys Walker[8] Two of Marshall Hamston's (Max Fletcher) friends who bully Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) for being gay.
Tom 6, 30 January Toby Fullman
Clare 21–27 March Lucy Thatcher[9] 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.

References
  1. "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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Hughes, Johnathon (1–7 April 2023). "Rhona's baby bomshell!". Inside Soap. p. 30.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
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