Emmerdale fans shocked as they realise Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous had role in rival soap
EMMERDALE fans were left stunned after they spotted Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous in rival soap role.
Ned Porteous, who plays the scheming Joe Tate in Emmerdale, surprised many fans when they discovered he had previously appeared in EastEnders.
Emmerdale viewers were left stunned after the actor made a surprise return to the Dales during the festive period.
The character came back to the village after six years away to bring down Kim Tate (Claire King), alongside her husband Will Taylor (Dean Andrews).
The plot took a jaw-dropping twist when Will suffered a fatal heart attack after Joe’s bombshell revelations.
With Will’s tragic passing, a heartbroken Kim is left reeling, while Joe steps into the role of the supportive step-grandson, pretending to be there for her.
Meanwhile, viewers saw Joe looking unwell in his room at the B&B, rummaging through his bag and taking pills.
Last week, he even asked Dawn Taylor for painkillers, leaving Kim deeply worried.
Will Joe open up about his health issues, or is he keeping it a secret for a reason?
But now soap fans are just realising the actor appeared in a rival soap EastEnders back in 2016.
Eight years ago, he appeared on the BBC soap EastEnders as Mark Fowler Jr, a member of the Mitchell family.
He played the son of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).
His storyline involved jetting in from Florida to London on a mission to find his biological father, Grant.
But, his stay was short and sweet as he went back to the States after just a month.
A long time before that, Pauline Fowler’s (Wendy Richard) daughter Michelle dramatically legged it to the USA, keeping quiet about her pregnancy.
Mark Jr was born off-screen in 1996, and it took two whole decades before the explosive secret about the Mitchell/Fowler offspring was finally unveiled.
Forgotten soap storylines
The nation's soaps have had many gripping storylines play out over the years. However, some plots proved to be far less memorable. Here are some forgotten stories from Weatherfield, Walford and more...
- Ken and Audrey’s romance (2015): After the death of wife Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), Coronation Street original Ken Barlow (William Roache) started to move on in his life. He started to develop a spark with old friend Audrey (Sue Nicholls), with then-Corrie boss saying it would be like “Ross and Rachel”. In the end, nothing ever came of it and the two remained platonic pals.
- Beth’s bigamy (2016): Despite being happily married to Kirk (Andrew Whyment), a troubling secret came to light about Beth Tinker (Lisa George). It transpired that she had never divorced from her first husband, Darryl (Paul Loughran), father of her son Craig (Colson Smith). Although Craig and Kirk were shocked – and Beth was arrested – the storyline didn’t didn’t go much further.
- Kat Slater’s secret son (2017): Capitalising on the popularity of Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie (Shane Richie), the two received a spin-off back in 2017. Titled ‘Redwater’, it saw the two travel to Ireland where they met long-lost son Luke, now called Dermott Dolan, played by Oisín Stack. Despite the high-tension events during Redwater, Kat seems to have put the experience behind her as Dermott’s not been mentioned since.
- Alfie’s brain tumour (2015): Having learned in 2015 that he had a brain tumour, Alfie kept the news from Kat until their trip to Ireland. At the time, actor Shane Ritchie revealed fans would see a change in Alfie as he battled the illness. It would appear that at some point after leaving the Square, was told the tumour was non-malignant. By the time Alfie returned in 2022, fans were left confused over what had happened to the storyline.
- Kathy and Buster’s affair (2016): In 2016, Walford legend Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) fell into the arms of convict Buster Briggs, played by Karl Howman. Buster was the long-time lover of Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and fathered both her sons – Mick (Danny Dyer) and Dean (Matt Di Angelo). When Buster left, he begged Kathy to join him, but she refused for the sake of her family. Meanwhile Buster didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Shirley before exiting with a broken heart. Fans expected a showdown between the two women, but this never came to pass.
- Jacob’s OCD (2016): After his dad, David (Matthew Wolfenden), was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016, Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) developed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This manifested in the form of cleaning. Jacob’s OCD made a brief return one year on, after David had another scare after finding a lump. Jacob frantically searched the bins for a “lucky coin” that had accidentally been thrown away. Despite stressful situations – such as being groomed by his teacher Maya, losing his fiancee Leanna to a serial killer, dealing with mum Leyla’s drug addiction, and surviving a stabbing – the condition doesn’t appear to have returned.
- Marlon and Charity’s fling (2003): Few fans would likely remember few will remember the one-night stand between Charity (Emma Atkins) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) in 2003. The pair slept together when Charity was staying with Marlon while still under suspicion for husband Chris’s supposed “murder”.
- Alex Browning’s revenge plot (2014): Fans expected a confrontation when Dr Browning’s son Alex (Ojan Genc) mer stepmum Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe). After all, Mercedes, with Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin) had murdered Alex’s dad, double-murderer Dr Paul Browning, after he kidnapped and attacked his new wife. In fact, the soap teased Alex would seek revenge for his father’s death upon arriving. However, he instead gave Cindy’s son Hilton (his half-brother) a life-saving transplant, became his godfather, and leaving the village soon after.
Taking to social media, a shocked Emmerdale fan wrote: “How have I only just found out Joe Tate in #Emmerdale is played by the same actor that played Mark Fowler Jr in #EastEnders”.
Another added: “I didn’t know he’d been in EastEnders.”
A third penned: “Ned Porteous back as Joe Tate is awesome but I preferred him playing Mark fowler Jr (Mitchell) in EastEnders. We didn’t have him long enough as Grant’s son. #Emmerdale #Eastenders.”
A fourth said: “I didn’t know that Joe [has] been in Bridgerton, and EastEnders as Mark Jnr.”