Ned Porteous is a firm favourite on Emmerdale playing villainous Joe Tate, but away from the soap his life is far less dramatic. Here is everything you need to know about the actor.
Real Name
Ned was born on 7 July 1994, making him 32 years old. While he goes by Ned, his birth name is Edward Graham Porteous. He is originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire and studied at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from Guildford School of Acting, graduating in 2015. Ned made his acting debut during an episode of BBC medical drama Holby City in September 2015, playing a character called Rufus Lucas.
Rival Soap Role
In 2016, Ned landed the role of Mark Fowler Jr in EastEnders, the offspring of Michelle Fowler and Grant Mitchell. Mark Jr's unexpected arrival occurred when he travelled from Florida to London to find his biological father Grant, but his stay was short-lived. The character decided to head back to the States after just a month, keen to avoid the notorious Mitchell family drama.
"Being part of two iconic families and the longest kept secret in EastEnders' history is beyond exciting!" exclaimed Ned upon his soap debut. He also expressed: "I'm honoured to be here and can't wait for viewers to meet Mark Jr."
Love Life
Ned previously dated a fellow actor, as back in 2019 he struck up a romance with Lucy Heath. "It’s early days but Ned is really enjoying dating Lucy. They have both been in America recently looking for work and grew really close," a source told The Sun at the time. They added: "They’ve got loads in common with their acting work and make a great looking couple – it’s just Ned’s fan who are gutted!" Ned later appeared to confirm their romance after sharing a picture cuddling up to the actress on a rock, with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Lucy has appeared in Apple+ comedy series Trying in 2024 and played Lucille in Sky comedy Sweetpea. However, it appears that Ned and Lucy eventually ended things by 2022.
In 2022 it was reported that Ned was dating someone new: Sophia Lo. Throughout their relationship, Ned and Sophia often posted photographs together across their social media platforms. But by 2024 the pair had seemingly split up after Ned and Sophia wiped all images of each other from their social media accounts.
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 8:00pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
