William "Will" Taylor was the father of Dawn Taylor, husband of Kim Tate and former boyfriend of Harriet Finch. Will was an ex-con and former drug dealer who used to work for the dangerous DI Malone's gang.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Will Taylor was born on 11th August 1965. In the 1990s, Will married Rose Jackson and in around 1995, Will became a father to baby Dawn. When Dawn was five, Rose walked out on her and Will as she struggled with being a mother, leaving Will to raise Dawn as a single father. Will was working as a drug smuggler, but kept this a secret from Dawn. Will started a relationship with call centre worker Michelle (DS Harriet Finch undercover) and Michelle became one of the family and a mother figure to Dawn. Secretly, Harriet was feeding information about Will to the police and after a sighting, Will was arrested. At his trial, Will learned Harriet was a police officer but didn't tell Dawn. Will was imprisoned for several years, and upon his release ended up in a Halfway House, where it was claimed he died, leaving Dawn 'deeply affected'.
All Will's years of drug dealing got his daughter involved with the drug world, and she was soon addicted to heroin because of him.
In December 2018, Dawn met "Michelle" again after many years, where she learned the truth about her being an undercover police officer all the time she was living with them. She eventually started forgiving Harriet who took her in and helped her get on the right path to make up for not being there for her as a kid.
2019-2020: Arrival and reuniting with Dawn and Harriet[]
In April 2019 Will showed up in Emmerdale, being revealed as the person who had been stalking Harriet, and it was also revealed that Dawn had lied to Harriet about Will being dead, and was working with him to get back at Harriet for getting Will jailed. Eventually, Dawn turns against him after realising how much she has come to care for Harriet. Will sets up a fake funeral for Harriet and almost murders her by crushing her with a coffin, but relents because he still loves her and runs away. Then late the next month he returns and ends up sleeping with Harriet, however, she regrets it afterwards and turfs him out, telling him to never come back.
Will can't take no for an answer, however, and in June 2019 he shows up in Emmerdale again, once more trying to win Harriet back only to be rejected again. He then lands himself a job at Barton and Dingle Automotives (using the nickname "Taz" to hide his true identity) after swiftly fixing mechanic Dan Spencer's camper van Hettie for him, explaining he trained as a mechanic in his youth, and Dan and "Taz" successfully persuade Cain Dingle to hire him. Harriet is shocked when she spots Will in the pub and even more so when he informs her he has gotten a job in the village and is turning his life around, wanting to be there for Dawn. Will and Harriet rekindle their romance but Dawn is upset after she catches Will at Harriet's. Will asks Harriet what they're supposed to do and Harriet states they need to end things to focus on being parents to Dawn and support her as she's getting back in contact with her son, Lucas. Will knows everything Harriet says is right but that doesn't stop him loving her. However, when Will returns in August after being away for a while, he and Harriet decide to continue their relationship but keeps posing as "Taz", not wanting others in the village to judge him based on his past mistakes.
In September 2019, Moira Dingle finds out about Will's past and is furious as she believes he is the one who sold drugs to her son, Matty Barton. Will attends a festival where Moira confronts him and causes a scene. She announces to everyone that he was a drug trafficker. Because of this, Dan kicks him out of his house where he had been staying and Harriet offers for him to move in with her at Woodbine Cottage. Harriet, Will and Dawn grows close as a family unit and Harriet and Will support Dawn as best they can in her attempts to get her son Lucas back.
In February 2020, Lucas is allowed to stay with Dawn for a night. Whilst Dawn is out, Lucas finds a real gun in the house and waves it at Harriet, Will and Dawn's boyfriend Billy Fletcher. Billy gets the gun off him but he and Harriet are furious to discover the gun belongs to Will. He admits to Harriet that he needs the gun to feel safe in case someone from his shady past comes after him but she insists it isn't safe to have in the house. When he refuses to get rid of it, Harriet steals the gun and asks Cain to get rid of it for her. She convinces Will that it was for the best and he agrees to go to counselling. However, unbeknownst to Will, Cain accidentally shoots his son Nate Robinson with the gun causing police to investigate.
2020 - 2024: Malone’s return and relationship with Kim Tate[]
In March, police accompanied by DI Malone show up, revealing that the gun has been traced back to a gang-related incident where three men were killed. Malone confronts Will and it turns out he's the leader of the gang Will used to work for back in the day and the gun belonged to him. He blackmails Will to start working for him again but when Cain finds a stash in the garage he confronts Malone, telling him to leave Will alone. However, Malone doesn't take Cain's threats lightly and pressures him and later Billy to work for him as well.
In late April, Dawn found out the truth about what happened with the gun and was furious, turning her back on Will as she wanted nothing to do with him but Harriet convinced her that they needed to appear stable to keep social services away. Will soon learns that Cain and Billy kept a car that Malone ordered them to destroy, and in his fear he torches it to keep Malone happy. This puts Will at odds with Cain, who is desperate to get out from under Malone’s thumb. Then in May 2020, Will found out that Malone was going to frame Cain and Billy for drug smuggling, so he warned them and they got away. After this, Harriet got involved and Malone backed off as they were former colleagues, to Will’s relief. Then in late May, he proposed to Harriet and was delighted when she accepted.
However, Malone began harassing Will and his family again a few months later, and during a confrontation Will hit him over the head with a spanner and believed he had killed him. He tried to cover this up with Billy but Malone escaped and became more determined to make Will suffer. Then in August 2020, Will is confused as Harriet tells him that Malone has been dealt with and worries over Dawn’s sudden change in behaviour. After she briefly goes missing in September, Dawn confesses to Will that she killed Malone in self-defence and that Harriet was having an affair with him. Will is furious about this and ends his engagement but tries to make things seem normal so social services don’t take Lucas away. However, after being forced into helping Harriet move Malone’s body, Will decides he has had enough and moves out. He gets a new job as groundskeeper at Home Farm so he can keep an eye on where Malone is buried and moves into a cottage on the grounds.
Soon Will develops an attraction towards his boss and Home Farm owner, Kim Tate. This soon turns into a relationship which Kim’s son, Jamie Tate disapproves of. In November, Will is angered when Jamie insults him and Dawn during an argument and punches Jamie. After he explains his actions to Kim, she forgives him and tells Jamie to get used to Will.
Sadly, on Christmas Day 2024, while Kim found out the truth of Wills intentions by Joe Tate, Will collapsed and died of a heart attack.
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Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| Dale Head | 16th September 2019 to 27th September 2019 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 27th September 2019 to 26th November 2020 |
| The Grange | 26th November 2020 to 18th January 2021 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 18th January 2021 to 9th February 2021 |
| The Grange | 9th February 2021 to 16th March 2021 |
| Woodbine Cottage | 16th March 2021 to 30th September 2021 |
| Gamekeepers Cottage, Home Farm | 30th September 2021 to 8th November 2021 |
| Home Farm | 8th November 2021 to 25th December 2024 |