List of Emmerdale characters introduced in 2016
Holly Barton's (Sophie Powles) ex-boyfriend Dean (Craig Vye) first appeared in March, while Ronnie Hale (John McArdle) was introduced in April as a relation to the White family.
Tracy Shankley's (Amy Walsh) father, Frank Clayton (Michael Praed) joined the show in August and Dotty Thomas made the second birth of the year in September.
A few days later, Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) gives DS Wise Gordon's ex-wife Sandra Flaherty's (Joanne Mitchell) address.
Gordon later tells DS Wise that the other witness was paid to give evidence against him and sends him after his daughter Liv Flaherty (Isobel Steele).
It's a great opportunity to be offered the chance to create a new character in one of TV's most popular shows and I'm very excited to be working with such an outstanding cast and team.
[3] Pierce turns up at the hospital to see his wife Tess, who was admitted after being struck by a car driven by a drunk Kirin Kotecha (Adam Fielding).
Paddy's best friend Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) came to his rescue, but Rhona, who knew about the affair, agreed to meet with Pierce the following day.
Pierce explained he had moved into a hotel since Tess died, so Rhona allowed him to temporarily stay with her and son Leo for a few days as she and Paddy had split up.
[10] Liv is the daughter of Sandra Flaherty (Joanne Mitchell) and Gordon Livesy (Gary Mavers) and the half-sister of Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).
In October 2017, Eliza suffers a seizure in the care of Jai's sister and Amba's mother, Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade), and Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi).
In March 2018, a day before her 2nd birthday, Eliza is distraught when a stressed Priya throws her plate at the wall in an outburst witnessed by Rishi Sharma (Bhasker Patel).
A month later, Eliza's bruises return while she is with Megan, and are ultimately determined to have been caused by the medication prescribed to treat her condition, proving Priya's innocence.
"[19] Dean will be dealt with by Holly's mother Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb) and stepfather Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).
And in Ronnie, we have a character that will unearth every painful fragment of love and loss buried in the White family's past - with the odd unexploded bomb thrown in for good measure!
"[22] Chrissie finds a love letter from Ronnie Hale in her mother, Ellen's, belongings, believing him to be her biological father after discovering that Lawrence White (John Bowe) is not.
Sadly, Lawrence collapses due to an aneurysm, and Ronnie discards his mobile phone and boards a train, leaving the village for good.
[24] He will first appear when unbeknownst to her, Tracy's boyfriend David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) visits him in prison, where he has spent "the last few years".
His tale is a story of a man trying to find redemption in the face of huge temptation, with a massive twist or two thrown in for good measure.
Frank asks her if she wants to talk about her ex-boyfriend Kirin Kotecha (Adam Fielding) and if he can see a photo of her infant son, Johnny, which she shows him.
The doctors inform Vanessa that the injuries Frank sustained have created several blood clots in his lungs and that he has been moved to intensive care and is in a coma.
Laurel starts getting twinges at work and is taken to hospital by Rishi Sharma (Bhasker Patel), however, it turns out to be a false alarm and she is sent home.
David Brown from Radio Times said that the birth of Dotty "provided a rare moment of contentment and happiness for the Thomases, who are currently coping with Ashley’s diagnosis of early-onset vascular dementia.
When a story in the local newspaper is written about the body of a dead baby being found underneath the school, Lydia begins acting strangely.
Rebecca had "a dramatic entrance", as she joined her father Lawrence (John Bowe), sister Chrissie (Louise Marwood) and nephew Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson) in the village.
"[36] A reporter writing for the Inside Soap Yearbook described Rebecca's entrance as "a great arrival", before noting that she "swept into Emmerdale village courtesy of a helicopter".
It is later revealed that Robert asked Rebecca to come to Emmerdale to help him expose Chrissie for framing his adoptive brother Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) for shooting Lawrence.
When she begins having stomach cramps, she fears she is miscarrying but after doctors confirm she is not, Rebecca makes amends with Chrissie and leaves the village but returns soon after.
Rebecca is later diagnosed with executive dysfunction, a condition caused by a trauma which leads to memory loss with neurocognitive deficits and behavioural symptoms.
The nurse, upon realising that Lachlan had lied to her and eager to escape prosecution for being his unknowing cohort, releases Rebecca whereupon she is discovered wandering around randomly in the Emmerdale cemetery by Robert, Aaron and Victoria.
[41] He was originally credited as Crash Victim when he involved in a multiple-car pile-up on the Hotten Bypass and saved by Finn Barton (Joe Gill).
