Emmerdale star William Ash, best known for playing Caleb Miligan on the ITV soap, has a famous relative that will leave fans astonished. The 49-year-old actor, who joined the Dales in 2022 as the long-lost son of Faith Dingle and Frank Tate, is the cousin of Peter Ash, a renowned actor from Coronation Street.
William Ash's Family Connection
William Ash, born in Chadderton near Oldham to an engineer father and a police civilian mother, developed a passion for acting early in life. During his school years at North Chadderton Comprehensive in Oldham, he befriended his future on-screen brother, Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle), under the mentorship of drama teacher Colin Snell. The same teacher also inspired actors like Nicola Stephenson, Jonas Armstrong, and Jenna Coleman.
Acting talent clearly runs in the family. William is the cousin of Peter Ash, known for his roles in Casualty, Footballers' Wives, and Hollyoaks. However, Peter is most famous for playing Paul Foreman on Coronation Street. Paul was the husband of vicar Billy Mayhew, son of Bernie Winter, and twin sibling of Gemma Winter-Brown.
Paul Foreman's Emotional Exit
Paul Foreman passed away in September 2024 after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), with Billy missing his chance to say goodbye. After leaving the soap, Peter Ash shared a heartfelt statement on X: "So, my time on Corrie has come to an end. I just want to say - thank you to everyone for the support you've given me over the years and with the storylines I've done. I really appreciate it. We'd be nothing without our fans, so thank you very much. I've had the time of my life filming Corrie. I'm going to miss everybody, but I'm excited to see what's next [for me]. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everybody for watching."
Since his exit, Peter has appeared in Channel 5 thriller The Teacher, audio drama Project Bläckfisk, and the stage adaptation of Peter James' Picture You Dead.
Caleb Miligan's Storylines
Back in Emmerdale, William Ash's character Caleb has been at the center of dramatic plots. He stood by his wife Ruby after she revealed she was sexually assaulted by her father Anthony Fox in her youth. This led to the shocking discovery that Caleb's daughter Steph was not his biological child, as she was conceived from the abuse. Caleb has also supported his brother Cain through a cancer diagnosis and was recently conned out of £5,000 by employee Kerry Pollard and youngster Archie Breckle.
Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.
