
Emmerdale's John Middleton joins rival soap for 'evil' role
He left the Yorkshire Dales after his character suffered a harrowing dementia storyline.
Before taking on his most famous role as Ashley, he originally appeared in Emmerdale as PC John Jarvis briefly.
Discussing the new role on Hollyoaks for the ITV actor, a source said: "People usually think of Ashley when they see John, but that won't be happening any more, Fraser is about as far away from the kindly vicar you can get."
Talking with The Sun, they added: "He's possibly the most evil character Hollyoaks has ever had - and for a village plagued by serial killers, that's saying something. Fraser will make his entrance very soon, and he's got more than one connection to the village with his twisted family already there.'
When he joins the Channel 4 programme in the near future, fans will quickly come to know him as the father of notorious villain, Fraser Black, played by Jesse Birdsall.
A post shared by Colin Boulter (@neilson_photo_actors)
This character terrorised residents on the show before being murdered in 2014.
A 'whodunnit' storyline, which went on for several months after his death, revealed that he was shot by his very own stepson, Freddie Roscoe (played by Charlie Clapham).
He is also the grandfather of shady Hollyoaks characters like Clare Devine, Grace Black and Rex Gallagher.
According to IMDb, the 71-year-old actor from Bradford has starred in a number of shows beyond Emmerdale.
From 1993 until 1995, he starred in four episodes of Coronation Street as John Hargreaves, the man who knocked down and killed Lisa Duckworth, and Mr. Mitchell, a hospital consultant.
He was also in two episodes of The Gambling Man and even appeared as Tony Warren in the 1998 TV movie The Things You Do for Love: Against the Odds.
In 2021, he appeared in the medical programme Doctors.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Rita Simons reveals her surprise family connection to a VERY famous TV businessman as he trolls her over EastEnders 'comeback'
Rita Simons has revealed her surprise family connection to a very famous TV businessman as he shared his thoughts on her EastEnders 'comeback'. The soap star, 48, played Roxy Mitchell from 2007 until her character was killed off a decade later. She then joined the cast of Hollyoaks in 2024 as Marie Fielding, but announced last month that she is quitting the soap in the autumn. Her departure was quick to gain attention from EastEnders fans who were eager to speculate Roxy's comeback to Albert Square. And now, taking to Instagram on Sunday, she revealed her uncle, who is none other than Sir Alan Sugar, had his own thoughts about her returning to the BBC soap. Speaking in the clip, Lord Sugar, who is married to Rita's aunt Ann Simons, said: 'Now look Rita, there's no way you're ever gonna convince the BBC to bring you back into EastEnders.' Rita asked: 'Do you think I should be back at EastEnders?' The 78-year-old continued: 'Definitely. But, you're dead. 'As far as the story [is concerned], you're dead. So you've got to come back as a cousin of who you were.' The soap star then asked her famous uncle what the name of her EastEnders character was - but the businessman said he didn't remember. After recalling her name had been Roxy, Lord Sugar decided she should return to the soap as a new cousin called 'Proxy'. He concluded: 'Whatever, don't care what you come back as. But the point is, you've got to come back as a relative. 'That's it, definitely.' Fans took to the comments to share their shock over their family connection. Fans took to the comments to share their shock over their family connection Users penned: 'Didn't even know she was related to Alan sugar... Alan sugar her uncle... Uncle Alan giving advice to his Niece... 'I forgot lord sugar is your uncle... I've never seen uncle and niece together... She could pass as his daughter not his niece. They really look alike!' It comes after Rita reportedly quit Hollyoaks after just 18 months. Since her arrival, she's been at the heart of some of the soap's most explosive plots, particularly those involving her villainous sons Abe (Tyler Conti) and Arlo (Dan Hough). Rita has reportedly made the decision to leave the show, with a dramatic exit storyline set to air later this year. A source told The Sun: 'Rita has absolutely loved every second of her time at Hollyoaks and it wasn't an easy decision. 'She moved her entire life to Liverpool two years ago to throw herself into the show, and it's been a great adventure, but the pull of home is just too much. 'London has been calling her, and it's proved difficult to balance a job she loves and her life in London.' The insider added that Channel 4 bosses have been supportive of her decision and have crafted a powerful exit for her character. While Rita is sad to go, she's said to be 'excited' to film the emotional scenes. Rita is expected to shoot her final episodes this summer, with her character's departure airing in the autumn.


Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
This Morning presenter Dermot O'Leary 'lands major new hosting role' away from ITV
Dermot O'Leary is reportedly set to front a new sports-themed gameshow on Channel 5, alongside former I'm A Celebrity contestant Sam Quek This Morning presenter Dermot O'Leary has reportedly secured a hosting role on a new sports gameshow on Channel 5 from the brains behind Gladiators and The Wheel. The 52-year-old television personality is recognised for fronting shows including The X Factor, This Morning, The One Show and numerous others. He's now set to test his skills as a quiz show presenter, working alongside Olympic hockey champion Sam Quek. The Hungry Bear-produced programme centres around American football and is reportedly still in its developmental phase, with insiders suggesting Dermot and Sam make an excellent on-screen duo, reports the Mirror. "The show is at pilot stage but Dermot and Sam have really good chemistry so everyone is excited about taking this to a full series at some point," an insider revealed to The Sun. "Hungry Bear are the masters in this realm, and NFL is such a growth area." Meanwhile, Sam gained recognition through her appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! where she made it to the final four. She previously served as a guest panellist on sports quiz show Play to the Whistle and BBC's A Question of Sport. She's also fronted various sports programmes, including The NFL Show, rugby union coverage on Channel 5, field hockey on BT Sport, and football for Channel 4. Her latest venture saw her competing on the 22nd series of Strictly Come Dancing. This development emerges as Olivia Attwood has reportedly set her sights on former X Factor presenter Dermot's This Morning position, stating she would relish the opportunity to co-host with Alison Hammond. Olivia, already a familiar face on the Loose Women panel since 2023, is now embarking on a fresh challenge. This Morning fans are used to seeing Dermot O'Leary on the Friday episodes with Alison Hammond. In a recent chat with Closer magazine, Olivia couldn't contain her enthusiasm about the prospect of presenting alongside the former Big Brother contestant. She expressed her feelings about joining the team, telling the magazine: "Everyone's been so welcoming." She continued: "The whole team's been lovely, and I'm just excited to get stuck in and learn from people I really admire." When discussing her ideal co-hosting partner, Olivia revealed: "If I ever get to host with Alison, I'm so sure we'd just laugh for two hours straight. Probably three." This Morning airs weekdays on ITV1, from 10am.


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Why Gregg Wallace and John Torode's salaries are missing from BBC
The BBC has released its annual list of some of its stars' salaries today, however, MasterChef duo, Gregg Wallace and former co-host, John Torode's are not included Gregg Wallace and John Torode's salaries are not included in the BBC's annual list of its stars' pay packets, which has been released today. Each year, the corporation publishes the names and salaries of its employees, who earn above a certain threshold (currently £178,000) every year. But while there are many stars that the BBC employs directly, the broadcaster also contracts a large number of production companies to make some of its programmes. The famous faces who are employed by those companies are not directly employed by the BBC, and therefore not on the salaries list. One of these is Banijay, which makes MasterChef, and which, used to, employ - and pay - presenter, Gregg Wallace, before he was axed following an investigation into his behaviour. Other stars not listed on the BBC's salary list, include Stacey Solomon, Rylan Clark and comedians, Rob Brydon and Lee Mack. Also not included are Strictly hosts, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Shows hosts, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas are also absent from the list. Other stars who do not appear include Alan Carr (Interior Design Masters), Amanda Holden (Amanda & Alan's Spanish Job), Alison Hammond (Florida Unpacked and Alison Hammond's Big Weekend), Jools Holland (Later) andDannii Minogue (I Kissed A Boy). Gregg, 60, and former co-host John, 59, have been on Baniiay's books for years as the successful presenters of the BBC cooking show. Their salaries were never divulged, but Gregg was said to be earning £400,000 as reported by The Sun last year. Meanwhile, John is said to be worth a staggering £8 million, thanks to his TV work, career as a chef and also opening and selling restaurants. However, after a bombshell week for the pair, Gregg, has been axed from MasterChef following an independent investigation into his behaviour and John has revealed he has been accused of making a racist remark while working for Banijay, which he denies. Former greengrocer, Gregg, thanked Banijay, who instructed law firm, Lewis Silkin, to carry out the investigation into his behaviour while on the BBC, for 'supporting' him after the report was published. However, he slammed the BBC, saying "the BBC left me exposed to trial by media and the damage it leaves in its wake". The presenter insisted that 'none of the serious allegations against me were upheld' even though the review found him guilty of the 'unwanted touching' plus three counts of being in 'a state of undress'. Banijay, revealed that 45 out of 83 accusations against the father-of-three were corroborated. The report also brought to light two separate claims implicating others, with one involving racist remarks. Aussie star John has reportedly been asked to step down from his long-running role on MasterChef after an historic accusation of racism, which he has no memory of and denies ever happened. Patrick Holland, chief executive of Banijay UK, said previously: "It is clear that escalation procedures were not as robust as they should have been. "We are extremely sorry to anyone who has been impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed." Meanwhile, a BBC statement said: "Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. "We accept more could and should have been done sooner."