Eric Pollard , the longest running character.
The following is a list of the top 100 longest serving Emmerdale 15th April 2024 . It only includes appearances within the main programme and not the Spin-offs .
The list is sorted by default in the order of time between first and last appearances of a character in years and months. Some guest characters, who only made short-term appearances which would otherwise allow them to be included in this list such as Walter , PC Mike Swirling and Sandra Flaherty are excluded.
Some characters who have had more than one actor, such as Jack Sugden , Tom Merrick and Priya Kotecha are indicated by a • in the Actor column. The actor listed in each case is whoever played the character most recently.
Please note: A '#' in the Most recent appearance column indicated that a character is still in the show.
Top 100 [ ]
#
Name
Actor
First appearance
Most recent appearance
Time between first and last appearance
1
Eric Pollard
Christopher Chittell
30th September 1986
#
37 years, 6 months
2
Annie Sugden
Sheila Mercier
16th October 1972
10th February 2009
36 years, 4 months
3
Jack Sugden
Clive Hornby •
16th October 1972
21st February 2008
35 years, 4 months
4
Kim Tate
Claire King
12th December 1989
#
34 years, 5 months
5
Robert Sugden
Ryan Hawley •
22nd April 1986
1st November 2019
33 years, 7 months
6
Alan Turner
Richard Thorp
23rd March 1982
4th June 2013
31 years, 3 months
7
Victoria Sugden
Isabel Hodgins •
31st March 1994
#
30 years
8
Sam Dingle
James Hooton
14th February 1995
#
29 years, 2 months
9
Mandy Dingle
Lisa Riley
20th July 1995
#
28 years, 8 months
9
Zak Dingle
Steve Halliwell
20th October 1994
27th June 2023
28 years, 8 months
11
Lisa Dingle
Jane Cox
13th August 1996
15th February 2024
27 years, 6 months
12
Marlon Dingle
Mark Charnock
17th October 1996
#
27 years, 5 months
13
Paddy Dingle
Dominic Brunt
20th February 1997
#
27 years, 1 month
14
Seth Armstrong
Stan Richards
16th May 1978
24th December 2004
26 years, 7 months
15
Belle Dingle
Eden Taylor-Draper •
25th December 1998
#
25 years, 3 months
16
Jamie Tate
Alexander Lincoln •
24th September 1996
4th November 2021
25 years, 2 months
17
Bernice Blackstock
Samantha Giles
25th November 1998
14th November 2023
25 years
18
Cain Dingle
Jeff Hordley •
30th March 2000
#
24 years
18
Charity Dingle
Emma Atkins •
30th March 2000
#
24 years
20
Bob Hope
Tony Audenshaw
19th September 2000
#
23 years, 6 months
21
Rodney Blackstock
Patrick Mower
24th October 2000
#
23 years, 5 months
22
Joe Tate
Ned Porteous •
13th June 1995
30th October 2018
23 years, 4 months
23
Nicola King
Nicola Wheeler
10th January 2001
#
23 years, 3 months
24
Diane Sugden
Elizabeth Estensen
23rd November 1999
20th October 2022
22 years, 11 months
25
Amos Brearly
Ronald Magill
16th October 1972
6th July 1995
22 years, 9 months
26
Rhona Goskirk
Zoe Henry
17th September 2001
#
22 years, 6 months
27
Gabby Thomas
Rosie Bentham •
25th December 2001
#
22 years, 3 months
28
Faith Dingle
Sally Dexter •
30th November 2000
13th October 2022
21 years, 11 months
29
Joe Sugden
Frazer Hines
16th October 1972
11th August 1994
21 years, 10 months
30
Betty Eagleton
Paula Tilbrook
12th April 1994
25th December 2015
21 years, 8 months
31
Laurel Thomas
Charlotte Bellamy •
3rd September 2002
#
21 years, 6 months
31
Chas Dingle
Lucy Pargeter •
16th October 2002
#
21 years, 5 months
33
Ashley Thomas
John Middleton
5th December 1996
9th February 2018
21 years, 2 months
34
Donna Windsor
Verity Rushworth •
26th August 1993
9th September 2014
21 years, 1 month
34
Terence Turner
Nick Brimble •
30th April 1985
21st May 2006
21 years, 1 month
36
Michael Feldmann
Matthew Vaughan
13th February 1990
4th January 2011
20 years, 11 months
37
Aaron Dingle
Danny Miller •
24th December 2003
#
20 years, 3 months
38
Jimmy King
Nick Miles
19th February 2004
#
20 years, 1 month
38
Noah Dingle
Jack Downham •
1st March 2004
#
20 years, 1 month
38
Andy Sugden
Kelvin Fletcher
4th July 1996
16th August 2016
20 years, 1 month
41
Tom King Jr.
James Chase •
1st April 2004
#
20 years
41
Kathy Brookman
Malandra Burrows
26th November 1985
1st November 2005
20 years
43
Sarah Sugden Jr.
Katie Hill •
6th June 2005
#
18 years, 10 months
43
Henry Wilks
Arthur Pentelow
16th October 1972
29th August 1991
18 years, 10 months
45
Samson Dingle
Sam Hall •
12th January 2006
#
18 years, 4 months
46
Debbie Dingle
Charley Webb
24th December 2002
11th February 2021
18 years, 2 months
47
Kelly Windsor
Adele Silva
10th August 1993
27th May 2011
17 years, 9 months
48
Shadrach Dingle
Andy Devine •
30th March 2000
17th November 2017
17 years, 8 months
49
Viv Hope
Deena Payne
10th August 1993
13th January 2011
17 years, 5 months
50
Cathy Hope
Gabrielle Dowling •
9th February 2007
#
17 years, 2 months
50
Matt Skilbeck
Frederick Pyne
16th October 1972
7th December 1989
17 years, 2 months
52
David Metcalfe
Matthew Wolfenden
26th November 2006
30th November 2023
17 years
53
Heath Hope
Sebastian Dowling •
9th February 2007
1st January 2024
16 years, 11 months
54
Jackie Merrick
Ian Sharrock •
21st November 1972
16th August 1989
16 years, 9 months
55
Pearl Ladderbanks
Meg Johnson
30th July 2003
30th March 2020
16 years, 8 months
56
Arthur Thomas
Alfie Clarke •
26th August 2007
#
16 years, 7 months
57
Sandie Merrick
Jane Hutcheson •
21st November 1972
11th May 1989
16 years, 6 months
58
Carly Hope
Gemma Atkinson •
13th June 2001
2nd June 2017
16 years
58
Donald Hinton
Hugh Manning
25th October 1977
28th October 1993
16 years
60
Brenda Walker
Lesley Dunlop
2nd April 2008
#
15 years, 11 months
60
Terry Woods
Billy Hartman
2nd February 1995
13th January 2011
15 years, 11 months
60
Marian Rosetti
Gail Harrison •
16th October 1972
1st September 1988
15 years, 11 months
63
Leyla Harding
Roxy Shahidi
11th August 2008
#
15 years, 9 months
63
Zoe Tate
Leah Bracknell
12th December 1989
22nd September 2005
15 years, 9 months
65
Caroline Bates
Diana Davies
21st February 1984
5th August 1999
15 years, 6 months
66
Edna Birch
Shirley Stelfox
25th May 2000
26th October 2015
15 years, 5 months
67
Tom Merrick
Jack Carr •
6th November 1972
10th February 1988
15 years, 3 months
68
Nick Bates
Cy Chadwick
26th November 1985
30th September 1999
14 years, 10 months
69
Moira Dingle
Natalie J Robb
17th July 2009
#
14 years, 8 months
69
Matty Barton
Ash Palmisciano •
17th July 2009
#
14 years, 8 months
69
Angelica King
Rebecca Bakes •
6th August 2009
#
14 years, 8 months
69
Jai Sharma
Christopher Bisson
11th September 2009
#
14 years, 8 months
73
Dolly Skilbeck
Jean Rogers •
22nd February 1977
15th August 1991
14 years, 6 months
74
Val Pollard
Charlie Hardwick
1st February 2004
25th December 2017
13 years, 10 months
74
Christopher Tate
Peter Amory
14th November 1989
18th September 2003
13 years, 10 months
74
Janie Harker
Lesley Duff •
27th November 1972
9th September 1986
13 years, 10 months
77
Jacob Gallagher
Joe-Warren Plant
12th August 2010
#
13 years, 9 months
77
Pat Sugden
Helen Weir •
6th November 1972
26th August 1986
13 years, 9 months
79
Katie Sugden
Sammy Winward
18th July 2001
9th February 2015
13 years, 7 months
80
Amy Wyatt
Natalie Ann Jamieson •
8th October 2010
#
13 years, 6 months
81
Scott Windsor
Ben Freeman •
10th August 1993
14th January 2007
13 years, 5 months
82
Priya Kotecha
Fiona Wade •
14th September 2009
27th January 2023
13 years, 4 months
83
Elliot Windsor
Luca Hoyle •
28th March 2011
#
13 years
84
Leo Goskirk
Harvey Rogerson •
31st May 2011
#
12 years, 10 months
84
Doug Potts
Duncan Preston •
30th April 2007
27th February 2020
12 years, 10 months
86
Amelia Spencer
Daisy Campbell
19th July 2011
#
12 years, 8 months
87
Sarah Sugden
Alyson Spiro •
7th April 1988
16th November 2000
12 years, 7 months
88
Kyle Winchester
Huey Quinn •
1st December 2011
#
12 years, 3 months
88
Sandy Thomas
Freddie Jones
6th November 2005
19th February 2018
12 years, 3 months
90
Sam Pearson
Toke Townley
16th October 1972
22nd November 1984
12 years, 1 month
91
Elsa Chappell
Natasha Gray •
8th February 1990
12th December 2001
11 years, 10 months
92
Kerry Wyatt
Laura Norton
17th July 2012
#
11 years, 9 months
92
Dan Spencer
Liam Fox
9th November 2011
17th August 2023
11 years, 9 months
94
Georgia Sharma
Lin Blakley •
3rd November 2011
31st July 2023
11 years, 8 months
94
Rishi Sharma
Bhasker Patel
3rd November 2011
28th July 2023
11 years, 8 months
94
Biff Fowler
Stuart Wade
10th March 1994
1st November 2005
11 years, 8 months
97
Vanessa Woodfield
Michelle Hardwick
10th December 2012
#
11 years, 4 months
97
Archie Breckle
Kai Assi
∙
{\displaystyle \bullet}
13th December 2012
#
11 years, 4 months
99
Steph Stokes
Lorraine Chase
3rd September 2002
30th October 2013
11 years, 1 month
100
Paul Lambert
Mathew Bose
10th September 2004
2nd September 2015
11 years
Other long tenures [ ] 10+ years [ ] 5+ years [ ]
Name
Character(s)
9 years, 10 months
Tara Thornfield (1997-2007)
9 years, 9 months
Tracy Robinson (2014-present) (as of April 2024)
9 years, 6 months
Carl Holliday (2014-present) (as of April 2024)
9 years, 5 months
Emma Nightingale (1995-2004)
9 years
Bill Middleton (1984-1993)
8 years, 11 months
Harriet Finch (2013-2022)
8 years, 10 months
Jock MacDonald (1981-1990)Albert Dingle (1995-2004)Emily Kirk (1999-2008)
Moses Dingle (2015-present) (as of April 2024)
8 years, 8 months
Carl King (2004-2012)Amba Metcalfe (2014-2023)
8 years, 7 months
Samuel Skilbeck (1982-1991)
Johnny Woodfield (2015-present) (as of April 2024)
8 years, 6 months
Adam Barton (2009-2018)
8 years, 5 months
Richie Carter (1999-2007)
7 years, 11 months
Marc Reynolds (1999-2007)
7 years, 7 months
Dotty Thomas (2016-present) (as of April 2024)Lydia Dingle (2016-present) (as of April 2024)
7 years, 6 months
Frank Tate (1989-1997)Megan Macey (2012-2019)
7 years, 5 months
Louise Appleton (2001-2008)
7 years, 3 months
TJ Woods (2003-2011)
7 years, 2 months
Holly Barton (2009-2016)
6 years, 10 months
Jack Sugden Jr. (2012-2019)
6 years, 8 months
Liv Dingle (2016-2022)
6 years, 6 months
Isaac Dingle (2017-present) (as of April 2024)
6 years, 5 months
Nikhil Sharma (2009-2016)
6 years, 3 months
Len Reynolds (2001-2007)
6 years, 2 months
Pete Barton (2013-2020)
6 years, 1 month
Kirin Kotecha (2014-2020)
6 years
Ned Glover (1994-2000)Roy Glover (1994-2000)
Dawn Fletcher (2018-present) (as of April 2024)
5 years, 11 months
Danny Daggert (2001-2007)
Ryan Stocks (2018-present) (as of April 2024)
5 years, 9 months
Manpreet Sharma (2018-present) (as of April 2024)
5 years, 8 months
Scarlett Nicholls (2007-2012)
5 years, 7 months
Lynn Whiteley (1989-1994)Butch Dingle (1994-2000)
5 years, 6 months
Daz Eden (2003-2009)
5 years, 5 months
Gennie Walker (2008-2013)
5 years, 4 months
Mark Hughes (1988-1994)Vic Windsor (1993-1998)Nellie Dingle (1995-2000)Tricia Dingle (1998-2004)Ross Barton (2013-2018)
Billy Fletcher (2018-present) (as of April 2024)
5 years, 3 months
Vinny Dingle (2019-present) (as of April 2024)
5 years, 2 months
Bear Wolf (2019-present) (as of April 2024)Gail Loman (2019-present) (as of April 2024)
5 years, 1 month
Latisha Daggert (2001-2006)Alicia Metcalfe (2010-2015)
5 years
Will Taylor (2019-present) (as of April 2024)
Nate Robinson (2019-present) (as of April 2024)
See also [ ] 
