As 2026 enters its final months, Emmerdale continues to see a wave of cast departures and arrivals. Among the exits, viewers have said goodbye to Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley), as well as four of the village's most villainous residents: John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth), Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths), Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) and Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker).
Temporary farewells have also been made to Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) and Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh), as both actors headed off on maternity leave, while Vinny Dingle's (Bradley Johnson) final scenes are set to air imminently.
New arrivals in the village
DS Thea Ramsden, played by Chelsea Edge, arrived in Emmerdale to investigate Dr Todd's death. It has since been revealed that Thea is best friends with Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) and has some connection to the Tates.
Returning faces
Former Home Farm queen bee Sadie King has returned to the village she once ruled. Before her arrival, producer Laura Shaw confirmed that much drama will follow: 'We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Patsy Kensit back to the cast and crucially to see the iconic Sadie King storm back into the village. Her return will be explosive and guaranteed to shock.' Sadie returned on September 2.
Gabrielle Dowling has also left the soap, but she will be back. Recent storylines have included Cathy Hope coming to terms with a PMDD diagnosis and dealing with the death of twin brother Heath, played by Gabrielle's brother Sebastian, who passed away following a car accident. Metro understands that the star is just taking a short break and will return down the line, though the date is currently unknown.
Victoria Sugden left the village in February to tie in with Isabel Hodgins' maternity leave. The actress announced on Instagram that she has given birth to her first baby, called Georgie Grace. Vic's exit saw her leave for a new life in Portugal, telling Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) that she would return, though when exactly remains to be seen.
Amy Walsh recently left her role as Tracy Shankley, with the exit story facilitating her maternity leave. The star, who is married to Toby-Alexander Smith, recently gave birth to her second child. Tracy moved out of the village following a difficult year adjusting to life as a single mum, but she will return when her maternity leave comes to an end.
Departures and final scenes
It was recently revealed that Olivia Bromley would depart from her role as Dawn Taylor after 8 years. The character's final scenes aired in the episode dated August 30. After surviving the wedding marquee explosion, Dawn gave birth to a baby boy in hospital, but died shortly after.
Jimmy King, an undisputed Emmerdale legend and the last-standing member of the ruthless King dynasty, died during the soap's huge wedding week. Jimmy crashed his car into the marquee where Dawn and Joe were supposed to get married. He died after it became clear that his injuries were too severe.
After a seven-year stint in the Yorkshire Dales, Vinny has left the village. Emerging as the son of Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley), he became central to various hard-hitting plotlines, including being abused by his step-dad Paul Ashdale (Reece Dinsdale), losing his wife Liv Flaherty (Isobel Steele), struggling with his sexuality and an ill-fated marriage to Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham). Vinny's axing is understood to be another casualty of ITV's cost-cutting measures. His final scenes aired in the episode broadcast on October 12, when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for causing the crash that killed Jimmy and Dawn.
The present cast of Emmerdale includes Ryan Hawley as Robert Sugden, Chris Chittell as Eric Pollard, Claire King as Kim Tate, Isabel Hodgins as Victoria Sugden, James Hooton as Sam Dingle, Ned Porteous as Joe Tate, Lisa Riley as Mandy Dingle, Mark Charnock as Marlon Dingle, Dominic Brunt as Paddy Kirk, Eden Taylor-Draper as Belle Dingle, Emma Atkins as Charity Dingle, Jeff Hordley as Cain Dingle, Tony Audenshaw as Bob Hope, Patrick Mower as Rodney Blackstock, Nicola Wheeler as Nicola King, Zoe Henry as Rhona Goskirk, Rosie Bentham as Gabby Thomas, Charlotte Bellamy as Laurel Thomas, Lucy Pargeter as Chas Dingle, Danny Miller as Aaron Dingle, Katie Hill as Sarah Sugden, Gabrielle Dowling as Cathy Hope, Alfie Clarke as Arthur Thomas, Natalie J. Robb as Moira Dingle, Ash Palmisciano as Matty Barton, Chris Bisson as Jai Sharma, Joe-Warren Plant as Jacob Gallagher, Laura Norton as Kerry Wyatt, Michelle Hardwick as Vanessa Woodfield, Michael Parr as Ross Barton, Jonny McPherson as Liam Cavanagh, Amelia Flanagan as April Windsor, Amy Walsh as Tracy Shankley, Karen Blick as Lydia Dingle, Andrew Scarborough as Graham Foster, James Moore as Ryan Stocks, Rebecca Sarker as Manpreet Sharma, Jay Kontzle as Billy Fletcher, Bradley Johnson as Vinny Dingle, Joshua Richards as Bear Wolf, Lawrence Robb as Mackenzie Boyd, Kevin Mathurin as Charles Anderson, Louise Jameson as Mary Goskirk, William Ash as Caleb Milligan, Flo Wilson as Claudette Anderson, Beth Cordingly as Ruby Fox-Milligan, Fred Kettle as Dylan Penders, Shebz Miah as Kammy Hadiq, Bradley Riches as Lewis Barton and Chris Coghill as Kev Townsend.
Recurring cast members include Andy Moore as Mike Swirling, Harvey Rogerson as Leo Goskirk, Huey Quinn as Kyle Winchester, Kai Assi as Archie Breckle, Charlie Munro Joyce as Carl Holliday, Arthur Cockroft as Moses Dingle, Jack Jennings as Johnny Woodfield, Tilly-Rue Foster as Dotty Thomas, Bobby Dunsmoir as Isaac Dingle, Noah Ryan Aspinall as Lucas Taylor, Bella James as Eve Dingle, Adam Pryor as Harry Sugden, Eden Ratcliffe-Knights as Frankie Robinson, Bertie Brotherton as Thomas Tate, Mabel Addison as Clemmie Reed, Alice Mauve as Ivy Malcoms and Malachi McKenzie as Evan Fletcher. Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8:00pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.
