Ethan Anderson was the lawyer son of local vicar Charles Anderson and Esme, as well as the brother of Naomi Walters.
Biography[]
2021-2022: Arrival in Emmerdale, reunion with Manpreet and relationship with Marcus[]
In January 2021 Ethan attends the stag party of one of his friends at The Woolpack. A short while after Ethan arrives the police come as the landlady found drugs which she believed belonged to Ethan's friend Olly. Ethan observed some youngsters acting suspiciously when the police arrived, these youngsters were behind the drugs, the three made a quick escape, however one of them, Sarah Sugden Jr., put drugs into Ethan's jacket without him noticing. When Ethan went to put on his jacket he was asked by police why he was doing so and when Ethan tried to explain, the police claimed he was being hostile, so they decided to search him, they proceeded to look through his jacket and found Sarah's drugs, they then took him down to the station for further questioning. The next day when Charles picked him up he said he was released pending further investigation, he also thought his arrest was racially motivated. He could tell Sarah was acting guilty however when confronted she protested her innocence and all the Dingles rallied round her.
Ethan later recognised Woolpack chef, Luke Posner as his friend Steven's ex, but was unnerved when it transpired that Luke's girlfriend Victoria Sugden (who he later befriended) was unaware that Luke had previously been in a relationship with a man.
Ethan was shocked to learn that his father's ex-fiancée Saira was living in the village. Ethan initially didn't want anything to do with her as he found out she had been lying to he and his dad about who she was as her name was Manpreet and was actually having an affair with Charles (unbeknownst to him), jilting him on their wedding day, leaving a young Ethan crushed. After interference from Manpreet's sister Meena, Ethan started to bond with Manpreet again. He agreed to put the past aside if she helped him find his mother through medical records, while at first she objected, Meena later got the number and convinced Manpreet to give it to him. Ethan had kept these developments a secret from his father as he knew Charles wouldn't like him to contact his mother, however when Charles found out, they had a chat and Ethan decided to delete his mother's number.
In May 2021 Ethan decides to turn to dating apps, he comes into contact with someone he really likes but he's enraged to find out it was Luke trolling him, this causes friction in Luke and Victoria's relationship. On Ethan's dating app he matches with a man called Eddy, the pair go out on one date but realise they aren't a match, however they do sleep with each other. A few weeks later Ethan is bombarded with messages and calls from Eddy. He ignores them but Eddy shows up in the village and tells Ethan he is being tested for HIV and it is advisory that Ethan does the same. Ethan is scared at both the prospect of having HIV and telling his father that he slept with someone on a first date, however it all turns out alright as Ethan is negative.
In October 2021, Ethan's mother, Esme gets back into contact with Charles, she explains why she left and that they have a daughter, she also gives Charles a letter for Ethan. The father and son are unsure of letting Esme back into their lives. Ethan meets up with Esme and it goes well. In December 2021, Meena reveals to Charles and Ethan that it was Manpreet sending the texts pretending to be Ethan's mother all those months ago. This enrages Ethan and he shouts at Manpreet for manipulating him like that. He later apologies to Esme for believing it was her.
In February 2022, Ethan meets a client, Marcus Dean to discuss the will of Marcus's recently deceased father, sparks fly between the pair so Ethan asks Marcus on a date the next day. While Ethan is waiting for his date to arrive, Rhona Goskirk suggests to him that people may see Ethan as unprofessional for going on a date with a client, so when Marcus arrives, Ethan acts hesitant and Marcus realises that Rhona must have had a word with Ethan. The next day, Marcus is called to a power outage in the Hide and Ethan volunteers to help him. Things are awkward between them until Ethan apologises to Marcus. They then started kissing annd though they are interrupted, they later begin a proper relationship. A month later, Ethan moves into Tall Trees Cottage with his friends Ryan Stocks and Nate Robinson. Soon after, Marcus begins complaining about his place and Ethan suggests he move into Tall Trees as well, to which Marcus agrees and they start living together.
In April, Ethan is called to represent Jordan Greenlowe, who was arrested for assaulting Billy Fletcher but claims it was self-defence. Ethan is shocked when it seems the attack was racially motivated but keeps representing Jordan as he doesn’t want to cause trouble. Billy is horrified that Ethan would agree to represent a racist but Ethan says he is just doing his job. Three weeks later, video footage of the attack appears and backs Billy’s story, so Ethan tells Jordan he can’t represent him and mentions his racist actions to Jordan’s wife. After this, Ethan arranges to meet Billy at an underpass, but is attacked by Jordan who blames Ethan for ruining his life. Billy arrives and saves him with Jordan being arrested.
In August 2022, Ethan meets his secret sister Naomi Walters after she arrives in the village. Despite a difficult first impression, they get on and Ethan invites her to move into Tall Trees to which she agrees. Naomi then starts getting close to Nate, who asks Ethan if he is okay with him dating her and Ethan approves, so Naomi and Nate start seeing each other. Soon after, Naomi is accused of attacking Nicola King and Ethan tries to stand up for her but she confesses that she was a part of the attack. In November, Naomi breaks up with Nate and accuses him of mistreating her to Charles, but Ethan stands up for Nate. Later that month, Naomi was acquitted in court but her friends were found guilty of attacking Nicola.
2023-2024: Break up, Victor's arrival, car accident and death[]
In December 2022, Ethan was up for a promotion at work and invited his boss, Greg, round for dinner with him and Marcus. Ethan believed that it went well and so arranged another dinner, despite Marcus’s reluctance. During the evening, Ethan walked in on Greg making a move on Marcus but Greg said that Marcus came on to him. Ethan believed Marcus and threw Greg out, apologising for putting Marcus through that. He then made a complaint against Greg at work and Greg told him to drop it or he would make his life hell but Ethan refused.
In 2023, Greg did start hurting Ethan’s chances at work and Marcus asked him to drop the complaint but Ethan wouldn’t back down. However, this made him miserable so Marcus and Naomi tried to help. Unfortunately, their plan failed and Marcus ended up punching Greg, so stop Greg from pressing charges, Ethan had to drop the complaint and lost the promotion. He blamed Marcus for this and things were awkward between them for the next couple of weeks. Ethan considered ending things with Marcus after another fight, but he soon realised that he loved Marcus and went to propose to him. He went to Tall Trees, only to walk in on Marcus and his ex, who had just slept together. After this, Ethan broke up with Marcus and was devastated by his betrayal.
In March 2023, Ethan agreed to go on a night out with Victoria, Naomi and her boyfriend, Alex as they tried to cheer him up about Marcus. Ethan disapproved of Naomi’s relationship with Alex due to his criminal past and made this clear. Victoria tried to get Ethan to chat with a guy called Sean but he turned out to be straight so Ethan left him with Vic. A short while later, Victoria shouted at Sean to get away and Alex grabbed him, thinking he had hurt her. This endeared Alex to Ethan, despite Vic saying that Sean hadn’t done anything wrong. Ethan then took Victoria home, where she confided in him about her rape a few years before and how she had been reminded of it which was why she freaked out. Ethan comforted her and offered to stay the night so she would feel safe.
In May, Charles’s mother Claudette decided to visit and Ethan was happy to see his grandmother. However, she did not get along well with Manpreet which put him and Charles in an awkward position. In June 2023, Ethan was surprised to find out that his grandfather, Victor Anderson, had been released from prison. Ethan initially wanted to meet Victor, but after talking with Charles he decided to keep Victor out of their lives, however, Claudette wanted her husband to stay. A few weeks later, Naomi left the village on Victor’s advice, causing more tension. When Victor revealed that he had a deadly brain aneurysm, Ethan took pity on him and became more tolerant of his presence, though Charles was still unhappy. Afterwards, Manpreet’s necklace went missing and Ethan agreed with Charles that Victor was probably behind it, causing Victor to run off after they accused him. Later that day, Victor was found dead in the church and Charles confessed that he had planted the necklace after the funeral.
In November 2023, Ethan went to a bar with his friends, Gabby Thomas and Suni Sharma. While they were out, Suni’s boyfriend Nicky Miligan arrived and the two left together. Shortly after, Ethan and Gabby left as well, then saw Nicky and Suni being beaten by some homophobic thugs in the alley and intervened. However, when the police got there, one of the thugs, Mike Wentworth, accused Ethan of threatening them with a knife and so Ethan was arrested. Ethan was infuriated by his arrest and didn’t cooperate during his police interview. Soon, Ethan was proven innocent and Mike was arrested for the attack on Nicky and Suni.
In May 2024, Ethan was drinking with Nicky when he got a panicked call from Suni about Mike. He wanted to go help but Ethan insisted on driving as he was more sober than Nicky. Unfortunately, they ended up crashing and Ethan moved an unconscious Nicky to the drivers side so that people would think he was driving. Later, the truth was revealed and Nicky’s father, Caleb Miligan swore revenge on Ethan. However, his wife Ruby, got there first and ran Ethan over. Afterwards, Ethan stumbled into the village fete and was checked over by Manpreet. He insisted that he didn’t need to go to the hospital and told Ruby that he would keep quiet as he deserved it.
Later, Ethan refused to turn himself in for the accident but Charles reported him. Ethan considered running away to escape punishment for his crime but Claudette tracked him down and convinced him to do what was right, so he returned to the village. A couple of days later, Ethan found out that Ruby was scheming against Kim Tate with help from Rose Jackson and left a message for Rose’s daughter Dawn saying they needed to talk. On the day of his plea hearing, while talking to Charles, Ethan collapsed and died as a result of a hereditary brain aneurysm.
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Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Leeds | Until January/February 2021* |
| Smithy Cottage | January/February* to 11th March 2021 |
| Apartment Two, The Mill | 11th March 2021 to 27th April 2022 |
| Tall Trees Cottage | 27th April 2022 to 28th May 2024 |
* exact day unknown but after 28th January.
Additional information[]
- Ethan was first inspired to become a lawyer at the age of 8 when he watched a documentary about Rosa Parks and saw attorney Fred Gray.