ITV soap Emmerdale has announced yet another fresh face to the village – with actor Joe Absolom set to be joining the cast this summer in a dark upcoming storyline

 Joe Absolom will be joining the cast of Emmerdale(Image: ITV)

There’s another fresh face expected in Emmerdale this year. The ITV soap has just announced that acclaimed actor, Joe Absolom, will be joining the cast this summer, playing Ray, an old contact of Mackenzies.

TV fans will recognise Joe from his wealth of television, theatre and film credits, including Doc Martin, The Bay and most recently playing the role of Braden Moore in Code of Silence.

Soap fans will also recognise the star from his role Matthew Rose in BBC soap EastEnders from 1997 to 2000.

Speaking on his upcoming role in the soap, Joe said: “Well what an honour to join such a talented team at Emmerdale! It’s an iconic show and I’m grateful to be part of it. I can’t wait to see what’s in stock for Ray!”

Joe Absolom will join Emmerdale as Ray(Image: ITV)

As for his upcoming storyline, the soap have revealed that the character, like many others, will have a dark side. Ray will arrive at the farm claiming to be selling farm machinery but it won’t be long before his true drug dealing ways become clear.

Despite Ray’s calm and collected exterior, it’s clear a menacing streak hides just below the surface.

The cast and crew are thrilled to have John on board, as Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw said: “We are thrilled to welcome Joe Absolom to the cast. It’s fantastic to have such a high calibre and immensely talented actor join our wonderful team to play the role of Ray.

The news comes after Ryan Hawley made his shock return to the soap

“Charming, charismatic and effortlessly likeable, Ray is an extremely complex character who very quickly shows his dark and villainous side to some of our most loved villagers, leaving them in no doubt as to what he’s capable of”.

Earlier this year, the soap welcomed Celebrity Big Brother star Bradley Riches as Lewis Barton.

It was announced in March that Bradley, 23, known for his role on Netflix’s Heartstopper, had joined the cast of the long-running soap opera, and has now become Emmerdale’s first openly neurodivergent character.

As well as new faces, the soap has also introduced one very familiar face back to the village. This week, fans were left in shock when Ryan Hawley reprised his role as Robert Sudgden, crashing his ex husband Aaron Dingle’s wedding.

In an interview with Lorraine, the star teased his character was back to “win Aaron back and bring down John Sugden.”