The Daily Star examines the current whereabouts of some of the former child actors who played beloved characters on Emmerdale over the years.
Children in the village have also experienced their fair share of drama in Emmerdale, in addition to the adults.
Viewers of the ITV soap opera have been introduced to a number of young residents from illustrious families over the past 50 years, including The Dingles, The Sugdens, and The Windsors.
But, as with all soap operas, a lot of the young actors are later replaced by more mature actors who portray more dramatic storylines.
Here, Daily Star examines the current whereabouts of a few of the Emmerdale young actors.
Toby Cockerell (Scott Windsor)
Before leaving to join the Army in the soap opera, Toby Cockerell played Scott Windsor, Vic Windsor’s son, in the role for the first time from 1993 to 1996.
Toby Cockerell has nevertheless kept acting, making appearances in plays at places like The Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and TV shows like One Tree Hill.
According to rumors, he is currently employed by his make-up artist wife Zoe Rene’s business as a product manager.
From 2000 to 2002, he was also married to Lindsay Zir.
After Scott Windsor returned to the soap opera in 1998 and became involved in major stories, such as having an affair and fathering a child with Zoe Tate, Ben Freeman succeeded Toby Cockerell.
Hannah Midgley (Victoria Sugden)
Since she first appeared on our screens in 1996, Victoria Sugden has become an iconic figure for Emmerdale.
After Jessica Heywood played baby Victoria, Hannah Midgley, then four years old, took over and portrayed the beloved character for almost ten years starting in 1997.
In order to allow Hannah to concentrate on her education, she was replaced in 2006 by current actress Isobel Hodgins.
But more than eight years later, a mature Hannah made a comeback on television as Rosie in the BBC drama In The Club from 2014 to 2016.
Since then, her IMDB page has not listed any roles for her, and it is unclear if she is still acting or if she has changed her career focus.
Although it hasn’t been updated since 2019, her Twitter account has provided glimpses into the celebrity’s life right now, including time spent with friends and family.
Christopher Smith (Robert Sugden)
Over the years, the Sugden family has introduced many well-known faces to the public, including Robert Sugden.
Robert was portrayed by Christopher Smith from 1989 to 2001, a long time before Ryan Hawley and Karl Davies made the role their own.
But according to The Sun, Christopher sued Yorkshire Television for unfair dismissal from his role as Robert in September 2001, claiming that it was because the producers wanted an older actor for more mature storylines.
The actor also appeared as Nick Hadley in a Holby City episode from 2002, and he worked on a 2011 short film titled Relationship Season.
Christopher now spends his time working behind the scenes as a producer for the acclaimed AMC talk show Talking Dead, which dissects the popular television series The Walking Dead.
According to Leeds Live, Christopher married his fiance Sarah at Bolton Abbey in 2012, and the two are parents to one child.
Dexter Ansell (Lucas Taylor)
Dexter Ansell, who had previously starred in the soap opera as Carl Holliday, played Lucas Taylor in Emmerdale from 2019 to 2021.
He developed strong relationships with his co-stars during this time, but in 2020, covid regulations made it illegal for child actors to be on set for the sake of health and safety.
Actress Olivia Bromley, who plays Dawn Taylor, expressed her regret at not being able to film with Dexter in a statement to The Express.
Dexter and I recently had a brief conversation because it was his birthday, she continued. He’s like a little ball of energy and is such a dream.
Fans, however, were shocked in 2021 when newcomer Noah Ryan Aspinall assumed the role of Lucas Taylor.
Despite leaving the ITV soap opera, Dexter has continued to appear on our screens as David Saunders most recently in the critically acclaimed Sky series The Midwich Cuckoos.
He is also listed as having roles in the upcoming movies Those Who Remain and Christmas On Mistletoe Farm on IMDB.
However, he is not the only well-known celebrity in his family; his father is none other than Jonathan Ansell of the band G4.
Before breaking up in 2007 and reuniting in 2014, G4 placed second on the X Factor in 2004, sold more than two million albums, and performed four sold-out tours.
Jonathan also gushed in 2016 about Dexter getting the part of Lucas Taylor in Emmerdale, tweeting a picture of one of his first photos from an issue of Inside Soap.
What a thrill today as our little baby boy Dexter has his first splash in a magazine, he tweeted alongside the adorable photo.
Luke Tittensor (Darren ‘Daz’ Eden)
During his tenure on Emmerdale from 2003 to 2009, Darren “Daz” Eden was at the center of a number of dramatic storylines.
These included conflict with Victoria Sugden’s adopted sister Andy Sugden and romantic entanglements with Andy.
After six years on the soap, Luke was reportedly fired from Emmerdale after entering a guilty plea to a charge of grievous bodily harm after breaking a 16-year-jaw. old’s
A representative for Emmerdale at the time stated: “We cannot support unlawful behavior. Luke recognizes the gravity of his actions and regrets them.”
Since then, he has continued to appear on our screens as the lead in the 2014 movie Pudsey the Dog: The Movie and the BBC drama The Beneficiary, both of which are a part of the Moving On Series.
Luke also made an appearance in the movie Madame Bovary and the school drama Waterloo Road on BBC One.
Additionally, his twin brother Elliot Tittensor, who portrayed Carl Gallagher in the popular Channel 4 series Shameless, is another well-known celebrity in the family.
The former Emmerdale star also delighted fans with a photo of him and his twin on Instagram in 2018. Luke looked completely different from the Luke he had been in the soap opera, rocking long hair and a full beard.
Luke recently made a comeback to acting in the Game Of Thrones prequel House Of Dragon as Ser Arryk Carguyll after spending six years away from our television screens.
Emily Mather (Belle Dingle)
The youngest child of Zak and Lisa Dingle, Belle Dingle first moved to the dales in 1998.
However, Belle was initially portrayed by Emily Mather starting at just 10 days old before Eden Taylor-Draper assumed the role in 2005.
According to rumors, after seven years on the soap, Emily decided to make a career u-turn and quit acting altogether, despite her fame from Emmerdale.
