Caleb Milligan (Will Ash) is escalating his feud with Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) in Emmerdale, plotting to frame Joe for the attack on Billy (Jay Kontzle) despite knowing the real culprit is Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill).
Background of the Feud
The pair have clashed since Joe stole Caleb's kidney, leading to a limo crash that killed Amy, Leyla, and Susie. After a brief truce, Joe's interference with Caleb's counterfeit goods operation at the Depot reignited hostilities.
Their connection is complex: Joe is the son of the late Chris Tate and Rachel Hughes, delivered by his dad's ex-wife Kathy. Chris later married Charity Dingle and had a son, Noah, but died before his birth after framing Charity for murder. Caleb is Chris's secret brother, the product of an affair between Frank Tate and Faith Dingle, adopted and unknown until his 2022 arrival in the Dales, making him Joe's uncle.
Caleb's Plan
Will Ash says his character intends to 'destroy' Joe: "He realises that he's not going to be able to kill him, but that he can just ruin his life. And so that's what he tries to do with his relationship with Dawn."
Caleb frames Joe for attacking Billy, Dawn's ex-husband, to ruin what Joe loves most. "He sees the happiness he has there [with Dawn] and he wants to just kind of decimate that."
Exploring Darkness
Despite starting as a villain, Caleb seemed reformed, but Will finds it 'fun' to explore his darker side: "It's always fun to play that stuff that's a bit more complex. If it gets kind of quite comfortable and everything's plain sailing well then its not quite as fun to do."
With the gloves off, Will hints at more conflict: "It'll probably end up being war again."
