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Leeds Live
Entertainment
Craig Jones

Emmerdale's Ashley actor John Middleton unrecognisable in new role

Emmerdale legend John Middleton looks a far cry from his Ashley Thomas days as he teams up with soapland legend for a new role.

John Middleton, 69, from Bradford, played reverend Ashley Thomas in Emmerdale to great popularity. John was in the soap between 1996 and 2017 - he also made a brief appearance in 2018 after his character died.

John received great acclaim for the challenging storylines involving Ashley’s dementia diagnosis. He’s now starring as Colonel Pickering in the UK tour production of the musical My Fair Lady.

Read more: Vote for Emmerdale's best storyline for all-time

Since leaving Emmerdale, John has enjoyed a number of acting roles. The acting star arguably looks somewhat unrecognisable following a recent Instagram post.

John can be seen sporting a big bushy beard. This is quite a different look to the clean-shaven appearance of Ashley Thomas in Emmerdale.

You can see John’s beard in the photo below from Instagram

John isn’t the only soap legend starring in My Fair Lady. EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt, who is famed for his portrayal of Ian Beale, is also part of the cast.

You can take on our 'Which Emmerdale mum are you?' personality quiz below. You can also access the quiz here

Adam, 54, stars in My Fair Lady as Alfred P Doolittle and the soap legend has also joined John in growing out his beard while away from EastEnders.

As ever, we'll continue to bring you the big Emmerdale news about what is happening in the village and away from it.

You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.

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