Emmerdale's Joe Tate, played by Ned Porteous, remains a firm favourite amongst the soap's fans.
The clamour for Joe's dramatic return to the popular ITV series is at fever-pitch, especially with the intense plot thickening around Kim Tate and her spouse, Will Taylor. Rumours are rife that he's conspiring with Kim's ex to topple her and there's whispers that potentially Joe or Jamie Tate are orchestrating the plans, poised to strip Kim of everything.
Ned won over audiences during his Emmerdale tenure but bid farewell to the role in 2019. Reflecting on his departure, he shared: "I want to move back to London and I want to do a bit of travelling. I haven't had a holiday for a very long time, so I'm desperate first to get out to America. I've got management out there so I want to try my hand with the American casting system and then go on a little holiday. I think I will turn my phone off, go climbing, go camping, go fishing."
Though Joe's fate seemed sealed in death, the show later unveiled that he was indeed alive, living overseas. Speculation abounds on whether he'll make an electrifying comeback to claim the proceeds of Kim's empire.
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Beyond Emmerdale, Ned has had roles elsewhere, notably as Lord Wetherby in the inaugural season of Bridgerton, Netflix's lavish regency-era sensation, reports Leeds Live.
Ned has also graced the small screen in EastEnders as Michelle Fowler's son Mark back in 2019, and made appearances in ITV's Grantchester and Extraordinary. His acting credits also include Holby City and Suspects.
Off-screen, Ned recently raised eyebrows with speculation of a split from his girlfriend Sophia Lo. The couple appears to have erased all traces of each other from their social media accounts, including snaps from holidays in Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park in California, as well as images from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and trips to Asia and Vietnam.
*Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm, with an hour long episode on Thursdays.
