Joseph Mark "Joe" Tate (alias Tom Waterhouse) is the orphaned son of Christopher Tate and Rachel Hughes as well as the half-brother of Noah Dingle. After his parents' death, Chris' sister Zoe Tate became Joseph's guardian.
Joseph was born prematurely to parents Chris and Rachel in 1995, and was named after Rachel's stepfather Joe Sugden and brother Mark Hughes. Since Chris and his father Frank Tate were away at a meeting when Rachel went into labour, Chris' former wife Kathy helped Rachel and became Joseph's godmother. After Chris and Rachel divorced, Rachel obtained custody of Joseph. The following year, Rachel began a relationship with Graham Clark, who later murdered her by pushing her off a cliff. Joseph begins living with Chris, although when Chris married Charity Dingle in 2001, Joseph opted to attend boarding school. Two years later, Chris committed suicide, framing Charity for his murder and leaving Joseph an orphan. Chris' sister, Zoe Tate, obtained custody of Joseph and in 2005, they left the village with Zoe's daughter, Jean.
Twelve years after leaving the village, Joseph returned to Emmerdale, using the alias Tom Waterhouse. He met Charity's daughter Debbie Dingle about leasing a Bentley. "Tom" and Debbie later began a relationship although Joseph soon revealed his true identity, took back the Bentley, evicted Debbie and her children, Sarah and Jack, out of Jacobs Fold and ended his relationship with Debbie, telling her that she was collateral damage in his pursuit of seeking revenge on Charity, for driving his father to suicide. Joseph bought his childhood home, Home Farm, from the Whites and later moved in. Eventually, Joe made up with Debbie and started growing close to his half-brother Noah Dingle.
On 11th October 2018, Joe was seemingly killed when he hit his head on a rock after a single punch by Debbie's father, Cain Dingle. However, when Joe's right-hand man Graham Foster put Joe in the boot of his car, Joe's hand twitched. Graham was then seen emotionally breaking down at the wheel of his car and later confirmed to his step-grandmother Kim Tate that Joe had been taken care of, thus Joe was presumed to be dead. However, on 18th March 2019, Joe was revealed to be alive and living abroad, living off money from Kim's business.
On Christmas Day 2024 Joe returned to Home Farm, having been working with her husband, Will Taylor to take Kim down for weeks. He soon moved back into Home Farm and began an affair with Kim’s married step-daughter, Dawn.
Biography[]
1995-2005: Early life and becoming an orphan[]
Rachel gave birth to 6lb 2oz Joseph five weeks prematurely on 8th June 1995 with the aid of Chris' soon-to-be ex-wife Kathy. Rachel named her son Joseph Mark after her step-father Joe Sugden, who had died a few days prior, and her late brother Mark Hughes. Kathy became Joseph's godmother. Chris' father Frank was disappointed that Chris and Rachel didn't get married before their son was born so when Joseph was six months old, Rachel and Chris tied the knot in secret. Frank got emotionally attached to his grandson and tried to help Chris and Rachel bring Joe up but Chris told his dad to back off a bit.
Chris and Joe in 2000, realising he is safe and not a victim of the bus crash.
Chris and Rachel split after less than a year of marriage due to disagreements about family planning. Joseph went to live with Rachel and had regular visits with Chris. In May 1999, Rachel was murdered by her boyfriend Graham Clark so Joseph went to live with Chris. However, in September 1999 Chris was kidnapped and Joseph went on to stay with his aunt, Zoe Tate. Whilst Chris was still missing Zoe and Joseph moved back into Home Farm. Chris was rescued and joined his sister and son at Home Farm in November. In 2000, Chris was worried that Joseph was a victim of the Bus Crash, and was later relieved that his son survived. The following year, Chris married former prostitute Charity Dingle and Joseph was sent to boarding school.
In 2003, whilst Chris and Charity's marriage was on the rocks, Chris learned he had an incurable brain tumour. Chris knew Charity was having an affair with her cousin Cain so he committed suicide and framed Charity for his murder, leaving Joseph an orphan. Pregnant Charity was falsely found guilty of Chris' murder but was acquitted after she agreed to let Zoe adopt her and Chris' newborn son Noah in return for the evidence that would clear her. A few months later, Social Services turned down Zoe’s adoption application and returned Noah to Charity, who promised Zoe that she can still have access rights. In September 2005, Joseph immigrated to New Zealand with Zoe and her daughter, Jean.
2005-2017: School years[]
Growing up, Joseph started to develop attachment issues. In 2008, One night, after school groundskeeper Graham Foster had drunkenly set his hut on fire, Joseph saved him and they soon bonded. Graham became a father-figure in his life and Zoe made him Joseph's guardian to prevent him from being expelled. 2 years later, when he was 15, he locked his headmaster in a cupboard.
2017-2018: Life as Tom Waterhouse[]
By 2017 Joseph, now known as Joe, had returned to Yorkshire and had used his substantial inheritance to set up Waterhouse International. Under the alias of Tom Waterhouse, he contacted Charity's daughter Debbie Dingle about hiring her Bentley.
"Tom" and Debbie in September 2017.
Whilst Charity and Debbie were in a meeting with Tom's right-hand man Graham Foster, their Bentley was stolen. Tom gifted Debbie a new Bentley and they soon began a relationship. Tom lavished Debbie with expensive gifts and even bought Jacobs Fold for her and her children, Sarah and Jack, to live in. Against Graham's advice, Tom gave Debbie a job. On her first day at Waterhouse International, Debbie discovered Tom was behind the Dale Woods Golf Course project which was trying to force the demolition of Debbie's family's home to make way for an access road. Debbie forgave Tom as he spun her a tale about only finding out the project would affect her family when it was too late, lying he kept it all from her because he didn't want to lose her.
January 2018: Joe reveals his true identity.
On the 4th January, Charity acted on her suspicions about Tom and she set off the fire alarm at his office building, so she could search his office. There, she found his passport and discovered Tom was lying about his identity - he was really her former step-son Joseph Tate. Charity tried to warn Debbie but Joe intercepted the call and sent Graham to stall her. Whilst Graham was keeping Charity busy, Joe arranged for the Bentley to be taken away and for Debbie's belongings to be moved out of Jacobs Fold. Joe revealed to perplexed Debbie that he was really Joseph Tate, she was just collateral damage in his quest to get revenge on Charity for his father's death. Joe then bought back his childhood home of Home Farm from it’s current owner, Lawrence White.
2018: Relationship with Debbie and presumed death[]
After Joe revealed himself, he also ended his relationship with Debbie. On 18th January 2018, Joe knocked down the Dingle home, which Debbie confronted him about but Joe was completely unapologetic. To get revenge Debbie asked drug dealer, Simon McManus to hurt Joe. Instead, Simon threw acid in Ross Barton's face as he was driving Joe's car after stealing it. Joe and Graham found Ross soon after and Graham helped him using his military knowledge to stop the damage from getting more severe as Joe called an ambulance.
In the following weeks, Joe continued to provoke the Dingles as he sauntered around the village. While out on a run, Joe was confronted by a masked man with a shotgun, who fired into the air. Joe then fled in fear as the man chased him and he ended up falling down a pit, where he lay hurt and afraid. The man followed him and removed the mask to reveal Sam Dingle, who wanted revenge for Joe knocking down his home and almost killing his son Samson in the process. Sam left Joe in the hole but he was eventually able to climb out and get back to Home Farm. Later, Joe went to the Woolpack and told everyone what Sam did, but the Dingles gave him an alibi which meant Joe could not go to the police. Joe was frustrated by this and the Dingles made it clear that worse would come if he continued to harass them.
During this time, Joe starts to bond with his half-brother, Noah Dingle, despite the objections of his mother, Charity. He gives him expensive gifts and lets him hang out at Home Farm, where they play poker and Joe teaches him chess. Charity is unhappy about this, especially after everything Joe did to her family and orders him to leave her son alone, which annoys Joe. He makes it clear that he will not stay away, saying that Noah is the only real family he has. After Noah also insists he wants to keep seeing Joe, Charity is forced to give in. In May, Joe takes Noah to the quarry and explains that going there is one of the only good memories he has of their father. Noah then dares Joe to jump into the water, which he does but it soon becomes clear he is struggling. Fortunately, Debbie arrives and saves Joe from drowning. This leads to a thawing between the two as their former bond resurfaces.
Later, Debbie and Joe rekindled their relationship and became a couple, to the disappointment of the Dingles, especially Debbie's parents, Cain and Charity. On 24th May 2018, Ross breaks into Home Farm with a gun and threatens Joe, believing he ordered the acid attack. Debbie comes downstairs and tries to calm Ross down but he is too angry to care. There is a scuffle between Joe and Ross, during which the gun goes off and Debbie is shot. Ross is horrified and runs away as Joe desperately tries to help Debbie. Graham then arrives and administers first aid while Joe calls an ambulance. Debbie survives and confesses that she ordered the acid attack, but it was meant for Joe. This causes tension between the couple but they soon reconcile, as Joe realises how badly Debbie was hurt by his deception.
In June 2018, Debbie's daughter Sarah takes out her anger at Joe by stealing his car with her friends. After Sarah is caught, Joe does not press charges as he wants to make amends. Sarah later collapses and is diagnosed with heart failure. Joe supports Debbie through this and begins the bond with Sarah again. On 31st July, Joe is attacked and left unconscious by Graham. It is revealed that Graham has relapsed into alcoholism and is suffering with flashbacks on the anniversary of his wife's death. Graham later apologised to Joe and made it clear how much he means to him. Joe returned the sentiment as he says Graham is the only father he has.
In August 2018, Joe lets Noah move in with him for after he has an argument with Charity. She is angry with Joe and demands that he kick him out, but Joe says that Noah can make his own decisions. On 31st August, Joe proposed to Debbie but she said no. Joe was confused by this but Debbie explained that she wasn't sure if they could ever fully trust each other after all the lies. Joe eventually talked Debbie around and they got engaged in early September. Charity and Cain were lukewarm about the news, whereas Noah took it well and joked about his brother marrying his sister. They spend the next few weeks planning the wedding and taking care of Sarah, who is starting to recover.
On 8th October 2018, it became clear that Sarah would not be able to leave the hospital to attend the wedding, so Joe asked Debbie to marry him at the hospital chapel. He had to leave briefly to deal with the masquerade ball but promised to come back. Unfortunately, Joe was met with Graham, who had been ordered to get rid of him. Joe was shocked by this but Graham refused to go through with it and told Joe he had to go on the run. Later it was revealed that his step-grandmother Kim, who had just been released from prison, was the one who wanted Graham to kill him. They had a quick goodbye as Graham said it was probably the last time they would see each other. As Joe and Graham were about to leave, Cain arrived. Furious about what Joe did to Debbie, Cain punched Joe which caused Joe to fall and hit his head on a rock, and it was believed that Graham later finished the job to avoid Kim from hiring someone else to give him a more painful death.
Joe after being punched by Cain.
2019: Living abroad[]
Joe was presumed dead for the next five months, with everyone in the village assuming that he had fled. Cain, on the other hand, was riddled with guilt as he thought that he killed Joe. Joe was subsequently reported as a missing person, and Cain confessed to Debbie that he killed Joe, which resulted in the breakdown of their relationship.
Kim returned to Home Farm after she was re-released from prison and found out that it was Cain who "killed" Joe. Kim met with an associate to find out who was making withdrawals from an offshore account and discovered through CCTV pictures that Joe was alive and had been taking money out from the account in Monte Carlo. Kim confronted Graham about this, and he revealed that Joe is no longer in Monte Carlo as he moved him on.
Years later, while in Dubai, Joe was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and hired Dr Crowley to treat him. After a failed transplant, Joe decided to look for a relative to donate a kidney.
2024 to present: Return to the village[]
On Christmas Eve 2024, it was revealed that Joe had been the one using Will Taylor as part of a plot to destroy Kim Tate. He had been communicating with Will for weeks through Kim's ex-financial adviser, Peter, but Will had got cold feet and emailed Peter telling him he was out. The next day, Joe arrived at Home Farm after Kim and Will renewed their wedding vows. He told Kim about the scheme, but said that it was all Will's plan and that he was just gathering evidence against him. Will denied this but Joe said he had evidence, then Kim ordered Joe to leave and confronted Will. When Joe returned a short while later, Will was lying on the ground having a heart attack while Kim watched, claiming it was all an act. Joe checked on Will and then called an ambulance, while Kim performed CPR and talked to Will. However, it was too late and Will had passed away by the time paramedics arrived.
In the days following Will's death, Kim came to rely on Joe as he was the only one who knew what really happened. Kim's dependence on Joe and his sudden appearance on the day Will died made Will's daughter, Dawn Fletcher suspicious of him and she became convinced he had killed her father after hearing about his previous actions from Charity Dingle. Meanwhile, Joe also tried to reconnect with his half-brother Noah Dingle, but he told Joe he wanted nothing to do with him. This was only made worse a few days later when Noah overheard Joe insulting their uncle, Caleb Miligan and calling him a "Dingle leech" during a heated conversation. Later, Joe attempted to apologise but Noah told him he didn't need him and walked away. Dawn and Joe continued to clash in the lead up to Will's funeral and during an argument Dawn outright accused Joe of killing Will and taking advantage of Kim but he insisted she was paranoid and retorted that she was the one taking advantage of her grieving step-mother. Dawn tried to slap Joe in response but he caught her hand just as Kim walked in. When Will's post-mortem results came through the next day, Dawn was forced to admit she was wrong as there were no signs of foul play and Joe accepted her apology.
The day after Will’s funeral, Joe arrived at Home Farm to find Kim unconscious and having a seizure as Dawn was yelling at her to tell the truth about Will's death. Joe called an ambulance and demanded to know what had happened. Dawn explained that she had dosed Kim with Ketamine to force her to confess. Joe shouted at her for being stupid, as Kim had been drinking and taking sleeping pills. Later, at the hospital Joe covered for Dawn with the police and hospital staff, then advocated for her with Kim. That evening, Joe comforted Dawn as she regretted her actions, telling her he had done bad things in the past, but he had moved on. Dawn kissed Joe and he pulled away after a few seconds. He then walked away, advising her not to tell her husband, Billy Fletcher. A few days later, Joe went to see Noah and offered him VIP tickets to a Leeds United game, which Noah accepted gladly. However, Charity sent Ross Barton to threaten him, so Joe told Noah he didn't have the tickets anymore. To get close to Noah, Joe hires him to fix the electrical system at Home Farm and Joe tells him the reason he cancelled their plans. They agree to pretend they hate each other for Charity's benefit but secretly hang out.
Dawn later accepted a job working for Kim, but it was revealed that Joe had orchestrated the offer to get closer to Dawn. The next day, Dawn confronted Joe about this in his bedroom and the two end up sleeping together. Afterwards, Dawn tells him no one can find out and he promises to keep their secret. Later, when Joe collapsed while driving on a country road and swerved into ditch, Dawn found him and drove him back to Home Farm, where he lies that the pills are painkillers for headaches he still gets after being hit by Cain. She believes he is an addict and says she has to tell Kim, so Joe threatens to tell Billy about their fling, angering Dawn but Joe doesn't back down. The following day, Joe apologises to Dawn for trying to blackmail her about their affair. He pretends to be an addict and promises he is getting help and tells her how much he admires her. They end up kissing again, but Dawn stopped it before it any further.
In February, Joe began sabotaging Noah's business by posting bad reviews online. As Noah began to panic about losing customers, Joe offered him a job in Dubai working on his developments. Noah was interested in this idea but hesitated due to his mother's disapproval. Joe also started flirting with Gabby Thomas in order to make Dawn jealous, which seemed to work as she confronted him about it. The next night, Joe and Dawn ended up sleeping together, not knowing that there was a recorder in his room and Charity had heard them on Kim's laptop. However, Charity visited the following morning and threatened to reveal the affair if he didn't leave Noah alone. Joe then told Charity that he didn't care if people knew about the affair and pointed out that Dawn and her family would be the ones to suffer. Joe continued to manipulate Noah into taking a job in Dubai by posting fake reviews. However, Noah eventually decided against moving away which frustrated Joe and he shouted at Noah for being stupid. Then, Joe stole Noah's tools from his van in an effort to force him out of business, and this seemed to work as Noah agreed to sign the contract. Joe took the contract to the pub, so he could gloat about Noah leaving in front of Charity, but found out that Noah was staying.
It turned out that Joe wanted to test Noah to find out if he was a transplant match to get his kidney and so a couple of days later, Joe drugged Noah and had him tested, but was disappointed to find out Noah was not a match. He later heard Noah was in the hospital after stumbling onto the road and almost being hit by a limo being driven by Charity, so he went to visit him. A few days later Charity has Ross kidnap him to find out the truth about Noah’s spiking. Joe proves to Ross that he was out of the country and later has to force his way out of the barn that Ross locked him in. He called Dr Crowley to come help after he had another collapse and after this Joe went to Dubai for two weeks to get treatment.
In March, Joe returned and was surprised by Dawn's cold welcome but she soon came round. He also manipulated local doctor Manpreet Sharma so she would give him a vial of Caleb Miligan's blood, as Caleb was his one of his only other living blood relatives. Fortunately, Caleb was a match and Crowley told Joe they could do the operation in two days. Crowley also insisted that Joe end his affair with Dawn so he could leave the village without any fuss, leading to Joe breaking up with Dawn. Joe also decided to get Ross out of the village by having his brother, Pete Barton, attacked. On the day, Caleb was supposed to be kidnapped, Joe met with Dawn at Dale Head and told her he loved her. However, she refused to agree to leave the village with him and he didn’t tell her that he planned on leaving. After Joe’s initial plan to kidnap Caleb didn’t work, he paid his lackey, Shaun, to stab Caleb. Once it was done, Joe took him to Crowley’s private clinic, where he insisted that they do the operation despite the danger to Caleb. The transplant was a success and Joe left for Dubai the next day.
However, Joe couldn’t stay away and returned to the village in April 2025. He found Caleb’s daughter, Steph Miligan in a bad way at the side of the road and helped her, but she ended up saying that they weren’t related. Later, Joe went to Home Farm and told Kim he intended to stay and win Dawn back. The next day, he offered Dawn a choice between him and Billy, despite her insistence that she didn’t love him. Joe also continued to snoop around Caleb, resulting in Caleb inviting him over for lunch and telling him that Steph wasn’t his biological child, which Joe believed. Dawn soon told Joe that she chose him, much to his delight. On 17th April, Caleb arrived at Home Farm and revealed he knew the truth about the attack as he hit him in the kidney and tore open his stitches, making him confess to the stabbing and drugging Noah, though Joe insisted that the Limo Crash was a tragic accident. Joe managed to stop Caleb from reporting him by blackmailing him over the disappearance of his father-in-law, Anthony Fox. Afterwards, Joe confided in Kim about everything and promised that he would prove his worth if she gave him a chance.
He continued to taunt Caleb over the next few days, despite Caleb making another attempt to kill him by running him over. Soon, Caleb’s half-brother, Cain made a deal with Kim and she put a stop to the feud, warning Joe to stay away from Caleb. Joe was also disappointed that Dawn wanted to keep their relationship a secret to spare Billy.
Other information[]
- Joe was a shareholder in Emmerdale Farm as his step-great-grandmother Annie Sugden gave him some shares when he was born.
- Joe "caught" the flower bouquet at his mother Rachel's wedding to his father Chris in December 1995.
- Joe supports Leeds United.
Background information[]
- Joe was axed alongside Jean Tate Jr. in September 2005 following Leah Bracknell's decision to leave the role of Zoe Tate.
- Joe was reintroduced by producer Iain MacLeod in September 2017. He was the only character with the Tate family name to be reintroduced until Kim Tate's return in October 2018.
Quotes[]
"Hello. Glass of champagne?" - first line spoken by Ned Porteous as Joe Tate, to Debbie Dingle while pretending to be Tom Waterhouse.
"Here I am dressed like a penguin" - to Debbie Dingle, after she thinks he is a butler.
"FINALLY she gets it!" - to Debbie Dingle after she realises his plan.
"This clown fired a gun at me!" - to everyone at The Woolpack about Sam Dingle.
"If I wanted a prostitute, I would just pay for one." - to Debbie Dingle, who slaps him moments later.
"If you're going to back a horse, Ross... always back the thoroughbred, not the inbred." - to Ross Barton about Debbie Dingle.
"You are my little brother, and you're the closest family I've got." - to his little half-brother Noah Dingle.
"Have you been binge-watching Midsomer Murders?" - to Priya Kotecha after she tells him she thinks Lachlan White is a killer.
"Just let me explain." - to Cain Dingle before Cain punches him severely.
"No. Because I'm not Batman." to Ross Barton after Ross kidnaps him and Ross asks if he is going to try anything.
”Should we just report the inside job now?” to Kim Tate when she hires Ross Barton.