Caleb Miligan is the long-lost son of Faith Dingle and Frank Tate, husband of Ruby Miligan and half-brother of Liam Hammond, Christopher, Zoe and Jamie Tate, and Cain and Chas Dingle. He is also the father of Steph and Nicky Miligan, although in January 2025, it was revealed Caleb isn't Steph's biological father after Ruby was raped by her father.
Biography[]
1976-1991: Early life and meeting Cain[]
Caleb Miligan was born to Faith Dingle in HMP Skipdale on 30th April 1976, following a fling she had with Frank Tate in the summer of 1975. At the time of his birth, Faith was married to Shadrach Dingle, so Faith gave Caleb her maiden name, Miligan. Caleb was raised in the foster system and often found himself in trouble.
15-year-old Caleb
In 1991, Caleb met his half-brother, Cain Dingle, who told him that their mother Faith had died despite her still being alive. At the time Caleb was up for a potential adoption by a couple but after an initial good meeting with Cain, who promised to introduce him to their younger sister Chas, Caleb declined the adoption. However when he returned the next day Cain was angry because unknown to Caleb he had discovered Chas was pregnant. Cain rejected him and out of hurt Caleb took off in a car from the garage Cain was working in. Cain jumped in the car as he drove away and the speeding vehicle caught the attention of a police officer. Caleb, who already had a previous arrest was worried about being sent to prison but Cain agreed to take the rap as long as Caleb stayed away from him and his family in the future, so Caleb left before the police arrived.
1992-2022: Relationship with Ruby and becoming a father[]
Sometime in early 1992, Caleb met Ruby Fox and the two started a relationship. Ruby came from a wealthy family and her parents, Helen and Anthony, disapproved of her seeing a boy from a care home. Soon Ruby fell pregnant and her parents tried to force to have an abortion. Ruby's father even tried paying Caleb to leave and never contact her again but Caleb stood by Ruby and the two ran away together, cutting all ties with Anthony and Helen.
On 1st January 1993, Ruby gave birth to their daughter, Stephanie. Caleb and Ruby later married in April 1996 and the day after Caleb cheated on Ruby with a mysterious woman and presumably started the first of his many affairs. The couple then had a son, Nicky who was born on 18th September 2000. Caleb also managed to build a successful business between this time and his arrival in the village, so he provided his children with an upbringing far better than his own.
Unfortunately, Caleb and Ruby's marriage was marred by cheating and separations with Caleb even admitting to cheating on his wife the day after their wedding. Caleb also revealed he had an affair with a woman he worked with after this which caused Steph to hate him. By 2023 the two were living apart.
2022-2023: Family reunion and going after Kim Tate[]
On Christmas Day 2022, Caleb arrived in the dales when he was discovered at his mother Faith Dingle's grave by his half-sister Chas Dingle. Chas immediately wanted to get to know her new brother even though, Cain Dingle, distrusted Caleb and warned him off, but as Cain was in prison at the time he couldn't stop Caleb from getting to know his family. Caleb helped Cain's son Kyle Winchester get released from youth offenders after he admitted that he killed Al Chapman with a shotgun. Most of the Dingles were accepting of Caleb especially Cain's wife Moira Dingle who was grateful for what Caleb did for Kyle. Despite this Cain still refused to trust his brother, as he thought Caleb wanted revenge for Cain stopping him from meeting Faith before her death. However, after a while Cain started to get to know his brother and the two bonded.
It was later revealed that Caleb had ulterior motives for being the village when he began working against Kim Tate. As part of Caleb's scheme to get back at Kim, Caleb sabotaged Moira Dingle's tractor which caused Moira to sell her farm to Kim, though he claimed he would return the farm to Moira once he had taken Kim down. Caleb also grew closer to Leyla Harding during this time as she was struggling with the consequences of her drug abuse and her estrangement from her son, Jacob Gallagher. Caleb and Leyla started a relationship much to the disapproval of Caleb’s son Nicky, who wanted his parents to get back together but Caleb assured him that their marriage was over. He had Nicky get a job at Home Farm and start a relationship with Kim’s protege so they could take everything from them.
Nicky continually expressed his dislike of using Gabby Thomas to get back at Kim much to Caleb's annoyance. Caleb eventually found out that Nicky was gay after he saw him kissing another man. Caleb was accepting of this and hugged his son, but still insisted Nicky keep up his fake relationship with Gabby. On 6th June, the truth about Caleb's identity was discovered on the day of his son Nicky and Gabby Thomas' wedding when Kim Tate caught him trying to steal money from her. Caleb admitted to being the son of Kim's ex-husband Frank Tate. Caleb's true identity caused major anger for many of the villagers. A few days later, Caleb started drinking with Charity Dingle and they ended up sleeping together. When she revealed this to get back at her estranged husband it started a huge argument in the pub and people turned their backs on him, so Caleb insulted most of the villagers including his "girlfriend" Leyla Harding when Caleb brought up her cocaine addiction. He also brought up Moira Dingle's affair with Cain's son Nate Robinson. Later, he was pushed of a ridge by an unknown assailant who was revealed to be Nicky. Deciding to protect Nicky, Caleb lied to the police about what really happened and then invited Nicky to move into Apartment One, Mill Cottage with him after he bought it from Vinny Dingle.
2023-2024: Making up with family and affair with Tracey Robinson[]
After the revelation that Caleb was Frank Tate's son and he had been secretly scheming against Kim, the Dingles turned on Caleb and Cain especially refused to let him back into the family. In late June 2023 Caleb acquires a car hire firm and offers Cain a contract to be the fleet mechanic through an employee, Nate takes a job with Caleb after meeting his old friend Corey Sanderson but he tells Cain thar Caleb owns the company and so Cain ends the deal, accusing Caleb of trying to buy him. However, it was later revealed that Corey was using the car hire firm to smuggle guns and got Nate involved. Caleb found out and took care of the problem but was beaten severely by Corey's boss, a gangster called Harry. Caleb and Nate continue to be close after this with Caleb giving Nate more responsibility in the company following Corey's sacking. Cain also started to come around to his brother after he took a beating for Nate and things settled down between them.
In October 2023, Caleb helped Cain get Aaron Dingle back from Italy and the two locked him in Wylie's Farm. He also helped Cain confront gangster, Damon Harris, known as Harry, when he kidnapped Chas. In late October, Caleb began a feud with Amit Sharma as he believed that Amit attacked his son Nicky out of homophobia, as Nicky was dating Amit's son Suni Sharma. Nate backed Caleb up when he physically attacked Amit for his treatment of Nicky and warned him not to mess with his son.
On 30th October 2023, Caleb is a part of the Dingle meeting in the Woolpack when Lydia Dingle questions everyone about the death of rapist, Craig Reed. In flashback it is revealed that Caleb's alibi is that after Nate and his wife Tracy Robinson had a row about the attack on Amit she confronted him for getting Nate in trouble. However, Caleb does not reveal that during their argument he and Tracy shared a passionate kiss. Caleb and Tracy begin an affair, despite Tracy's initial denial of her attraction to him. On Christmas Day 2023, Moira Dingle catches the two kissing in the living room at Butler's while everyone else is out. She tells them that she will keep their secret but orders Tracy to end the affair. Tracy tries to put a stop to their affair but soon gives in to temptation again.
On 25th January 2024, Tracy visits Caleb when she is supposed to be away on a training course. Caleb tells her not to go on the course and spend the night with him instead as they have the perfect cover. Later Nate, Nicky and Moira burst into to Mill Cottage with Nate believing that Caleb is with his wife after finding his wallet in their sofa. However, Tracy is no longer there and Caleb is kissing a different woman, revealed to be Caleb's estranged wife, Ruby Fox-Miligan. Caleb and Ruby are seemingly back together after this, even throwing a disastrous dinner party at Mill Cottage with Cain, Moira, Nate and Tracy all in attendance. On the evening of 14th February, Caleb and Tracy have a confrontation outside Mill Cottage about Caleb being back with Ruby and Tracy breaking up with Nate. They discuss their affair and, unbeknownst to them, Ruby overhears them. Ruby and Caleb attend the wedding of Belle Dingle and Tom King on 15th February. At the reception they are seated with Nate and Tracy, who are separated at this point after Tracy tells Nate she doesn't love him anymore. In the middle of the reception Ruby stands up to make a speech and exposes Caleb's affair with Tracy. Nate attacks Caleb but is pulled away by Cain before he can do any real damage. Caleb and Ruby leave the reception and get back to Mill Cottage where they argue about what happened. Caleb insults Ruby, telling her he doesn't want her anymore and she is boring. Ruby gets upset and packs her bags to leave but Caleb stops her and apologises. They spend the night together and agree to give their marriage another try.
Cain and the rest of the Dingles aren't as forgiving after the affair, so Caleb is once again shunned. He tries to make amends to Cain and Nate but they continue to insist he is dead to them. In March, Nate grabs Caleb but Cain pulls him away before he can hurt him. Cain, Nate and Aaron take revenge on Caleb by stealing the cars from Longbrook Private Hire. Ruby convinces Caleb to call the police about the theft and he reluctantly agrees. However, the company cars are all returned to the firm but Cain turns up at Caleb’s to tell him that they had his car crushed and Cain throws the badge to him as proof.
In April 2024, Ruby is still jealous about Caleb's feelings for Tracy and tells him to prove the affair is over. She tells Caleb to ruin Tracy's presentation to get investors for her nursery. He is initially reluctant to do this as he knows what it means to Tracy but eventually goes ahead with it. He interrupts her presentation to tell the investors that Tracy is an ex-prostitute and isn't safe around children. The plan works and Tracy's ambitions are destroyed, much to Ruby's delight but Caleb is instantly regretful over his actions. He argues with Ruby again, calling her sick and telling her she brings out the worst in him. The next day Ruby apologises for her behaviour and promises to make it up to him. He is unsure about this but chooses to believe her. She tries to get him back in with the Dingles without much success, especially with Cain. Later, she manages to get Cain to go for a pint with him but it ends with Cain storming off after seeing Ruby's drunken antics. Caleb catches up with Cain and apologises but Cain tells him doesn't matter how sorry Caleb is. They have a conversation and both agree to leave things as they are.
In May 2024, Caleb's son Nicky is involved in a car accident and seriously injured, leaving him in a coma. Soon the police discover that Nicky wasn't the one driving the car, putting Caleb and Ruby on the warpath. They find out that it was Nicky's friend Ethan Anderson who was driving while drunk and Caleb goes to attack him but Cain holds him back. Caleb accuses Cain of not caring what happens to Nicky, but he assures him they will get back at him. Caleb is shocked when Ruby takes revenge by hitting Ethan with her car and leaving him in the road but still covers it up by getting the car fixed. Nicky later recovers and wakes from his coma with no permanent damage done, to Caleb’s relief.
Then in July 2024, Caleb falls out with his son when Nicky asks for more responsibility in the car hire business but Caleb is reluctant. After Nicky shows him his business plans Caleb is still unimpressed and they argue with Nicky saying that Caleb has never been proud of him, to which Caleb retorts that he never gave him a reason to be, so Nicky punches Caleb and then storms off angrily. After Ruby berates Caleb for his treatment of their son, Caleb tries to apologise to Nicky but it is too late as he tells Caleb that he and Suni are moving away and on 4th July, Nicky leaves the village with Suni. A month later Kim has Longbrook Private Hire burned down as revenge for Rose Jackson meddling in her marriage. However, Caleb is unaware of this scheme and Ruby later reveals that she was the one who paid Rose to seduce Kim's husband. Caleb takes Ruby out to an old warehouse after her confession and explains that his new plan to take down Kim is to start his own empire right next to hers using the insurance money from Longbrook burning down.
In September, Caleb is contacted by his estranged mother-in-law, Helen Fox and summoned to her hospital room. She tells him she is dying and wants to reconnect with her daughter before she dies. Caleb is initially sceptical of her, bringing up her past treatment of Ruby and himself. However, Caleb soon agrees to bring Ruby to visit her in exchange for £100,000 to fund his new project. Unfortunately, Helen dies on the same day the money comes through and Caleb doesn't tell Ruby about his visit to her mother or the money. Ruby finds out anyway after Helen's nurse calls her and mentions Caleb. She confronts Caleb and he insists he did it to protect her and Helen hadn't changed, lying that Helen had insulted her during their conversation.
In November 2024, Caleb begins sabotaging Home James Haulage in order to force Jimmy King to sell his share in the business. He buys Will Taylor's share and employs him to get Jimmy to sell as well. However, Will tells Jimmy about Caleb's plans for a new shipping depot and Jimmy refuses to sell, as it means Jimmy will get a share of future profits from Caleb's new venture. Caleb also tricks Jai Sharma into transferring all his money to an offshore account which he uses to fund the depot.
On 15th November, Caleb opens the new depot and reveals to Jai that he has no money and no claim on the business. Jai angrily confronts Caleb and pins him against a stack of crates with a forklift, threatening to kill him unless he gives the money back. Caleb is saved when his estranged daughter, Steph Miligan interrupts and films the attack. She says she will show the video to the police if Jai doesn't release her father. Jai reluctantly listens but promises Caleb it isn't over. Caleb is ecstatic to see his daughter but she tells him she is only there to collect her inheritance from her grandmother. Over the next few days, Caleb convinces Steph to stay and even makes her a partner in Caleb Miligan International. Caleb is annoyed to find out that Steph slept with Ross Barton and warns him off after Charity tells him what Ross is like. Steph soon agrees to move in with Caleb and Ruby at Mill Cottage. They are both happy about this, though it does mean having to put up with Ruby's estranged father, Anthony who Steph is close to. Ruby wants Anthony gone and Caleb initially tried to help her but after Steph told him that she would leave with Anthony, he stopped. A couple of weeks later, Anthony moves in with them and Caleb actually starts to get along with his father in law.
2025 to present: Steph's paternity, Anthony's murder, stabbing[]
In January 2025, Caleb is devastated when he discovers a DNA test that says Steph isn’t his. He confronts Ruby, who begs him to forgive her and tells him she always believed Steph was his. He ignores her clear misery and throws her out, telling her that they are really finished this time, however, Caleb is unable to tell Steph the truth and refuses to say why he threw Ruby out. After confiding in Cain, he becomes determined to find out who the real father is and works out it must be Ruby’s childhood friend Rob Harris. He calls Rob to the house but Chas interrupts and tells Caleb that Ruby confessed to her that she was raped, which shocks Caleb. When Rob arrives, Caleb interrogates him about the rape but Chas then works out that Anthony raped Ruby after Rob tells them she was scared of her dad and Caleb is sickened to discover the truth. He then apologises to Ruby and lets her move back in, but they decide not to tell Steph.
On 20th January 2025, Caleb takes Anthony up to Butlers Farm and threatens him with a gun. Caleb starts playing Russian roulette as he asks him why he raped Ruby but Anthony shocks him by saying that Ruby has been sleeping with Cain, which Caleb doesn’t believe as he continues to threaten Anthony. After Anthony admits abusing Ruby, Caleb shows him there were no bullets in the gun, saying that he was never going to kill him, but then tells Anthony that he is so disgusted by him that he changed his mind. As Caleb loads the gun and prepares to shoot him, Anthony knocks the gun out of Caleb’s hand and runs off. Caleb went home when he failed to find Anthony after he fled and joined Ruby searching for Steph. Then, after Ruby later killed Anthony and called Caleb for help, he comforted her and took her home. Later, Caleb was further surprised when the body disappeared before he could get rid of it.
In February, Caleb works out that his nephew, Aaron Dingle was the one who got rid of the body after he steals Anthony’s stuff from Caleb’s house. Soon, Ruby, Aaron, Caleb, Cain and Chas along with Aaron’s boyfriend, John Sugden, decided to keep Anthony’s death a secret as they all had something to lose if it is discovered. However, the pact is put in jeopardy as Caleb then discovers that Cain and Ruby did sleep together and begins formulating his revenge. He anonymously tells the police that Cain had something to do with Anthony’s disappearance and plants evidence in Cain’s car after he is arrested. His plan fails and Aaron confronts Caleb, telling him that he removed the evidence but Caleb then blackmails him into silence by threatening to have him sent down for Anthony’s murder instead of Cain.
On 14th February 2025, Caleb agrees to drive a limo for a boys night out organised by Liam Cavanagh but seeing Cain there, Caleb gets angry and as they are driving, he exposes Cain’s fling with Ruby to everyone in the limo. Caleb speeds up as he shouts at Cain for betraying him and almost crashes into an oncoming vehicle, but managed to swerve and stop the limo. Later, as Cain brought up Caleb’s affair with Tracy, Caleb went to attack him but was held back by Paddy Dingle, who he then punched for getting in his way. Eventually, Cain and Caleb moved away from the group, which is when Caleb revealed that he had set Cain up for Anthony’s murder before he started beating him. He was pulled off Cain and the group decided to drive away, leaving him there. Caleb went home where he confronted Ruby about her infidelity and she begged him to forgive her, causing Caleb to storm out. He soon came back and told her that he didn’t blame her, he blamed Cain for taking advantage of her distress.
Over the following days, Steph continued to be suspicious about her grandfather’s disappearance and Caleb asked Ross to put her off the scent, however Steph then found the gun Caleb was going to use on Anthony, so he had to lie that he got it to kill Cain. A couple of days after, Ruby broke down under Steph’s questioning and was about to reveal the truth, when Caleb interrupted and said he killed Anthony. Steph was inconsolable and she demanded that Caleb turn himself in or she would. Caleb agreed and after a tearful goodbye with Ruby, he went to the police station to confess. He was stopped by Ruby and Steph arrived after Ruby told Steph what really happened and he worked to help his daughter get through the horrible revelation.
A couple of weeks after, Caleb was stabbed in a scuffle with a car thief but fortunately, Caleb’s nephew, Joe Tate, was driving past and took Caleb to a private hospital where Dr Crowley treated him and removed his kidney. However, in April 2025, as Caleb continued to struggle in the aftermath of his ordeal, he became suspicious of Joe, especially after learning that Dr Crowley didn’t work at the clinic he was treated at. Caleb then paid Joe a visit and found a box of immunosuppressants in his coat, confirming his theory. He attacked Joe, punching him in the kidney several times and throwing him to the ground. Caleb forced Joe to confess to the stabbing, and then worked out he had caused the limo crash by drugging Noah Dingle. He was about to call the police on Joe, when Joe then threatened to report him for Anthony’s disappearance, having worked out that he was involved, forcing Caleb to back off.
The day after, Caleb got Joe to come to the depot, where he tried to run Joe over but he was frustrated as Cain saved Joe. Kim and Cain then stepped in and Kim offered Caleb money to end the feud but this wasn’t enough, as Caleb wanted a part of his birthright and so he demanded a quarter of the Home Farm estate. When Kim wouldn’t agree to that, Caleb settled for a few acres of Kim’s land that surrounded the depot. They soon made this official and Caleb had the land put in both his and Ruby’s name. Not long after, Caleb and Ruby discovered that Steph had booked a nose job to remove any resemblance to Anthony and interrupted her appointment. After this, they were horrified when they found her trying to cut her face with a glass bottle and Caleb later found a therapist for her.
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Hotten | Until 3rd May 2023 |
| The Woolpack | 3rd May to 6th June 2023 |
| The Grange | 6th June to 15th June 2023 |
| Apartment One, Emmerdale Mill | 15th June 2023 to present |
Background information[]
- Riccardo Drayton appeared as fifteen-year-old Caleb in a flashback episode broadcast on 26th December 2022.
Quotes[]
"Well, you can't ignore the summons from the mighty Cain Dingle." - First line to Cain when he goes to visit him in prison.
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"Well, I won't pretend I'm not a little bit impressed." - to Will Taylor, after Cain tells him Will tried to crush Harriet Finch with a coffin when he first arrived in the village.
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"I am Frank Tate's son!" - to Kim Tate, after his plan to take over Home Farm is unravelled.
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"100%? What? Were your mum and dad brother and sister then?" - to Joe Tate, after Joe notes that he’s "100% Tate", unlike Caleb.
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"My wife meant nothing to you! Well, she means everything to me!" to Cain, while confronting him about sleeping with his wife Ruby.
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"What’s the matter Ruby? Cain got your tongue?" - to Ruby, after he learned she had slept with Cain.