List of Emmerdale characters introduced in 2026
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Emmerdale is a British soap opera that first aired on 16 October 1972.[1] The following characters made or will make their debut in 2026. The first character to appear was Summer (Vera Chok), a private investigator hired by Joe Tate (Ned Porteous). Clive (Phil Mealey), a cancer patient who meets Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) at a support group made an appearance in March. April saw the birth of Leyla Sugden, the adoptive child of Sarah (Katie Hill) and Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant). Additionally, several other characters appear throughout the year.
Summer
Summer, portrayed by Vera Chok, is a private investigator hired by Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) to investigate into the death of Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough).[2] She first appears on 16 January 2026 when she meets with Joe at The Hide, where she brings DI Dent (Linda Armstrong) who investigated Graham's murder, which turned out to be faked, six years before.[2] Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy announced Chok's casting following her first appearance: "Former Hollyoaks star Vera Chok has been cast in the role of Summer the PI, who meets up with Joe at The Hide in tonight's episode."[2] It was also revealed that Chok's role would be a guest stint.[2]
Clive
Clive, portrayed by Phil Mealey, is a cancer patient who is attending a support group with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).[3] Mealey's casting was announced on 24 March 2026 and he made his first appearance on the same day.[4] Divya Soni from Digital Spy described that Mealey had taken on a "sombre role".[3] Clive met Cain at the support group, which he was reluctant to attend, however before the meeting, he was approached by Clive who explained his relationship struggles since his cancer diagnosis.[3] After hearing this, Cain walks away from the meeting.[3] Soni described: "Clive's words clearly struck a nerve with Cain, who was already anxious about his surgery and marriage. He instantly changed his mind about attending the meeting and stormed away."[3]
Leyla Sugden
| Leyla Sugden | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Sally Isabel Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 10,557 22 April 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Iain MacLeod | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Leyla Charity Sugden, portrayed by Sally Isabel Wright, is the newborn daughter of Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Ross Barton (Michael Parr).[5] She first appeared on 22 April 2026 when she was born.[5] Charity was initially being a surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and her now husband Jacob (Joe Warren Plant), but ended up falling pregnant by Ross.[5] However, despite knowing Ross was the father, she continued to pass her baby off as Jacob and Sarah's.[5] After she was born, Leyla was named after two characters.[5] Her middle name Charity after her alleged great-grandmother who gave birth to her, and her first Leyla after Jacob's mother, Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi), who died in a Limo crash in February 2025.[5] Joe Anderton from Digital Spy described this gesture to be a "touching tribute" to those characters.[5]
Other characters
| Character | Portrayer(s) | Episode date(s) | Details | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zara Adams | Frog Stone | 17 February–present | Bear Wolf's (Joshua Richards) solicitor who represents him when being interviewed for the murder of Ray Walters (Joe Absolom). | [6] |