Emmerdale welcomed Will Ash as the long lost Dingle sibling, Caleb Milligan (Image: ITV)Emmerdale spoilers, news and interviews sent straight to your inbox for freeMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Emmerdale spoilers, news and interviews sent straight to your inbox for freeInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeEmmerdale star William Ash has delighted viewers as the long lost Dingle sibling, Caleb Milligan, since he joined the ITV soap in December 2022. Caleb, who is the son of Faith Dingle and Frank Tate has had his fair of dramatic storylines since he arrived in the Yorkshire village, including an affair with his niece-in-law Tracy Robinson (Amy Walsh). Recently, Caleb swindled £100k from his terminally ill mother-in-law Helen Fox (played by Sharon Maughan) in exchange for reuniting her with her estranged daughter Ruby (played by Beth Cordingly) after a 30-year separation. As we watch Caleb’s latest antics unfold in the Dales, actor William, 46, tends to live a far more private life, despite having been an active member of the acting scene for over thirty years now. Here we take a closer look at everything we know about the star’s life away from the Dales…
William Ash joined the cast of Emmerdale in December 2022
(Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Will, 47, was born in Chadderton near Oldham, to an engineer father and a police civilian mother, where he spent much of his early life before being bitten by the acting bug. Will also revealed he has one sister, who these days works as a teacher of psychology and sociology. Despite showing a clear interest in drama at school thanks to the support and encouragement of his teacher Colin Snell, acting wasn’t always Will’s dream job – as he previously revealed he had actually wanted to be a footballer in his youth! “My dad played a lot of football and played semi professionally and that is what I wanted to do, be a footballer, until I was 16/17,” he told Inkpellet back in 2012.
Caleb’s storylines have included an affair with Tracy Metcalfe
(Image: ITV screengrab)
Will and his Emmerdale co-star Jeff Hordley have known each other since their school days
(Image: Mark Bruce)
Sadly the dream wasn’t meant to be, as he admitted: “I think I was deluded that I could make it as a footballer when I look at it! I broke my leg playing football when I was 15 and couldn’t play for a year so the acting took over.” It was also during his school years that Will first met and made friends with his future co-star Jeff Hordley, with the pair having known each other for several years prior to his Emmerdale debut. Having decided to pursue a serious career in acting, one of Will’s very first roles was actually in Coronation Street, when he cameoed for one episode as a character named Spike at the age of just 10 years old back in 1987. From there he continued to star in numerous productions, typically for single episode runs, including in 90’s favourites such as Heartbeat, and even enjoyed a role as a series regular in Children’s Ward, from 1989 – 1991.
He portrays Caleb Milligan in the ITV soap
(Image: ITV)
Sign up to OK’s TV newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for free Continuing on his road to success, numerous more roles followed, including serious regular roles in Beck, Where the Heart Is, and even Clocking Off. By the 00’s, Will had established himself as a formidable actor, with his name frequently popping up in a number of iconic shows, including BBC favourite Doctor Who. One of his best roles however, has to be his three year stint as Christopher Mead in Waterloo Road, where he played the deputy head teacher at the troubled school – a role which did previously get him into hot water with his sister, a fellow teacher, who liked to tell the star where he was going wrong! During his Inkpellet interview, Will recalled: “I phoned my sister one day while she was at school and she answered the phone. I said, ‘you’re not in a class, are you? And she replied, “No Will, I wouldn’t answer the phone in class – this is not Waterloo Road!”
Will starred in Waterloo Road for a number of years as deputy head teacher Chris Mead
(Image: BBC)
After making the decision to leave the educational drama, Will went on to star in Great Night Out and Being Eileen, before even picking up roles in British-French crime drama The Tunnel, Wanderlust, and even Silent Witness. In 2022 however, he returned to his soap roots, this time swapping the cobbles for a stint in the Yorkshire dales, as he joined the Emmerdale cast as Caleb Milligan. Away from acting, very little is known about Will’s personal life as he prefers to keep it under wraps and focus on his acting roles only, however he is believed to have two children and still resides in Manchester.
Will’s famous cousin Peter Ash, is also a popular soap star, playing Paul Foreman in Coronation Street
(Image: ITV)
One thing that is known for sure however, is that acting genes clearly run in the family, as William also has a famous soap star cousin who starred in rival soap Coronation Street. Will is the older cousin of Peter Ash, who fans will best recognise as Paul Foreman, the twin brother of Gemma Winter. Peter’s character recently died following his battle with motor neurone disease, in devastating scenes. Peter first joined the soap back in 2018, and prior to that was best known for starring as Darius Fry in Footballer’s Wives between 2003 and 2006. Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and ITVX every weekday at 7:30pm, with an extended episode on Thursdays.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnEmmerdale
