Emmerdale will flashback to 1991 to show how estranged brothers Cain Dingle and Caleb Milligan first met in a special episode set to air on Boxing Day. The festive edition will see Jeff Hordley replaced as a one-off character for one episode.
The ITV soap will air the special episode which will reveal why the brothers are estranged and why Cain has kept his brother Caleb a secret for all this time. Young stars, Aiden Kane and Riccardo Drayton, take on the roles of young Cain and Caleb and met with Emmerdale actors Jeff Hordley (Cain) and Will Ash (Caleb) at a rehearsal earlier this year.
While Maddy Barker plays young Chas who will also feature in this flashback episode. It comes after it was announced last month that Coronation Street and Waterloo Road star, Will Ash, will join the soap as Cain Dingles long lost brother.
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Will is be joining the Dingle family this Christmas, playing Caleb Miligan, a well connected, successful businessman. There’s a surprise in store for Cain, played by Jeff Hordley, when his long lost brother Caleb turns up unannounced. However, it’s far from a happy festive reunion as Caleb has lots of difficult questions he wants Cain to answer.
Caleb’s arrival is set to make things even worse between warring siblings, Cain and Chas (Lucy Pargeter). It soon becomes clear that Cain has kept Caleb’s existence a secret from her since they were teenagers.
Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Will Ash to the Village. It's fantastic to have such a high calibre and immensely talented actor join our wonderful team. Arriving on screen on Christmas Day, Caleb has to undoubtedly be the most unexpected and shocking Christmas gift Cain and Chas have ever received."
Calm and in control, rich and successful, at first glance Caleb is everything his brother isn't, but will the pair find they have more in common than they thought? What secrets from the past will come back to haunt them and how will the rest of the family react when Caleb strolls into town?
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His arrival certainly promises to shake things up for the Dingles and make 2023 start off with a huge bang. Will has a variety of other television and film credits, most notably playing the roles of Christopher Mead in Waterloo Road and Steve Robinson in Clocking Off.
Will said: “I’m thrilled to be joining such an iconic show. Emmerdale is packed full of fantastic actors and I'm really looking forward to working alongside them. Caleb is a fantastically complex character and I can’t wait to get stuck in.”
A sneak peek image has offered fans a teaser of the younger Cain Dingle and the resemblance is uncanny. Discussing the special Boxing Day flashback episode, we've previously reported Cain Dingle star Jeff Hordley's thoughts on 'being replaced'.
He said: “We were lucky enough to get to meet them (the young stars playing the younger versions of the Dingle clan).
"We watched them do a scene and we watched them do a scene. They asked us questions.
As ever, we'll continue to bring you the big Emmerdale news about what is happening in the village. You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
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