Emmerdale newbie Michael Wildman already has a connection to his on-screen son
Fans will be suspicious of him...
Author: Emma DoddsPublished 6th Aug 2019
Emmerdale is welcoming a brand new character in scenes airing next week. Michael Wildman, who has starred in Harry Potter, Extras and Casualty, will be joining the soap as Al Chapman, father of Ellis Chapman and ex of Jessie Dingle - but apparently, they won't be especially happy to see him.
At a recent press day, Michael told us as much about his character as he could - and although show bosses are keeping their cards close to their chest when it comes to him, it sounds as though things are about to get a bit dramatic for the Chapman/Dingles.
Michael said, "Al’s come into Emmerdale ruffling a few feathers. He has been abroad on business. It’s not clear what his intentions are. Al is trying to build the bridge with his son Ellis but thinks he can just come back in to his life and pick up where he left off.
"He doesn’t have to do much to make Jessie’s husband Marlon feel insecure. He’s going to be an interesting character. I don’t know how long Al will stay – it depends how well he’s liked or hated. I’m here for the foreseeable.
"I would say he’s ambiguous. It may not take you that long to work out what he is but it takes a while for him to, maybe, for you to say we’ll go this way with him or that way with him. He’s a judge of character – he can be in a group of people and talk to five people at the same time and talk to them all in different ways. He can manipulate characters like that. He’s an interesting character."
Swipe through to see all the Emmerdale spoilers you need to know for next week...
Drowning her sorrows at the Woolpack after resigning from her job, Jessie is confronted by Nicola over Maya and soon she gets aggressive, letting rip on the kids in the village.
Emmerdale newbie Michael Wildman already has a connection to his on-screen son
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Indebted to Kim, Jai is concerned when Kim announces her plans to undertake a full review of the company's staffing procedure.
Drowning her sorrows at the Woolpack after resigning from her job, Jessie is confronted by Nicola over Maya and soon she gets aggressive, letting rip on the kids in the village.
As she's ushered home by Ellis, Billy and Marlon, a disgraced Jessie turns her wrath on her family and blames Marlon for her outburst at the pub. As they walk they're watched by a figure from the trees.
The next day, Ellis is surprised when he meets a potential client, who turns out to be a prominent figure from his past. Ellis tries to tell his mum about his shock meeting.
Later on at April's birthday party, the family are celebrating when they're interrupted by a car horn from outside, and as they go to investigate they're confronted by Ellis's mystery visitor again.
Jessie introduces Marlon to Al – Ellis's dad. But as they politely shake hands, Jessie can't help but wonder why he's here, and what it is he wants...
Faith is determined to cheer up Zak, who's been a shadow of his former self since Lisa passed away, but Zak feels guilty about having fun without Lisa.
As they continue to chat, Faith manages to make Zak smile as they reminisce about the old days together.
As they laugh over shared memories, the chemistry is hard to ignore and the two share a brief kiss.
Hearing the others arrive home, Zak springs out of his reverie and, feeling guilty about moving on so soon after Lisa's death, storms from the room.
The next day at the Woolpack, Zak wants to talk about what happened between them, and seeing an opportunity for more alone time, Faith suggests they talk in the cellar.
But they're once again interrupted after Faith gets the fuse box soaked in beer and the upstairs lights go out, forcing Bear and Paddy to go down and investigate.
Acutely aware of how suspicious it must look to have been caught in the cellar with Faith, Zak quickly tries to cover his tracks.
But scheming Faith is quick to deflect attention by telling everyone that Bear is illiterate to protect their own secret. Bear is left humiliated.
Elswhere, after the full details of Lydia's past are revealed, she and Sam are nervous about explaining things to Samson.
Their concerns are validated by Samson's furious reaction, who's clearly horrified by the truth. Can they win him round?
Debbie prepares to leave Emmerdale and half the village offer to help her move her things and lend a hand with the move.
Debbie and Sarah share an emotional farewell – but there's one family member who won't be so easy to say goodbye to.
Debbie and Charity meet shortly before Debbie's due to head off. Will Charity find it in herself to wish her daughter well?
Cain is shocked by how aggressive Matty turns when the two have a fall out.
Indebted to Kim, Jai is concerned when Kim announces her plans to undertake a full review of the company's staffing procedure.
Drowning her sorrows at the Woolpack after resigning from her job, Jessie is confronted by Nicola over Maya and soon she gets aggressive, letting rip on the kids in the village.
As she's ushered home by Ellis, Billy and Marlon, a disgraced Jessie turns her wrath on her family and blames Marlon for her outburst at the pub. As they walk they're watched by a figure from the trees.
The next day, Ellis is surprised when he meets a potential client, who turns out to be a prominent figure from his past. Ellis tries to tell his mum about his shock meeting.
Later on at April's birthday party, the family are celebrating when they're interrupted by a car horn from outside, and as they go to investigate they're confronted by Ellis's mystery visitor again.
Jessie introduces Marlon to Al – Ellis's dad. But as they politely shake hands, Jessie can't help but wonder why he's here, and what it is he wants...
Faith is determined to cheer up Zak, who's been a shadow of his former self since Lisa passed away, but Zak feels guilty about having fun without Lisa.
As they continue to chat, Faith manages to make Zak smile as they reminisce about the old days together.
As they laugh over shared memories, the chemistry is hard to ignore and the two share a brief kiss.
Hearing the others arrive home, Zak springs out of his reverie and, feeling guilty about moving on so soon after Lisa's death, storms from the room.
The next day at the Woolpack, Zak wants to talk about what happened between them, and seeing an opportunity for more alone time, Faith suggests they talk in the cellar.
But they're once again interrupted after Faith gets the fuse box soaked in beer and the upstairs lights go out, forcing Bear and Paddy to go down and investigate.
Acutely aware of how suspicious it must look to have been caught in the cellar with Faith, Zak quickly tries to cover his tracks.
But scheming Faith is quick to deflect attention by telling everyone that Bear is illiterate to protect their own secret. Bear is left humiliated.
Elswhere, after the full details of Lydia's past are revealed, she and Sam are nervous about explaining things to Samson.
Their concerns are validated by Samson's furious reaction, who's clearly horrified by the truth. Can they win him round?
Debbie prepares to leave Emmerdale and half the village offer to help her move her things and lend a hand with the move.
Debbie and Sarah share an emotional farewell – but there's one family member who won't be so easy to say goodbye to.
Debbie and Charity meet shortly before Debbie's due to head off. Will Charity find it in herself to wish her daughter well?
Cain is shocked by how aggressive Matty turns when the two have a fall out.
Indebted to Kim, Jai is concerned when Kim announces her plans to undertake a full review of the company's staffing procedure.
Interestingly, Michael has quite a few connections to the show - first of which is the fact that he nearly appeared on the show before! "I did a screen test for Emmerdale several years ago. I can’t remember what the character was. But it felt right this time and I was sold on the fact that everyone at Emmerdale was really nice."
Another is the fact that he previously worked with his now-on-screen son, Asan N'Jie, having previously worked together on the Steven Spielberg epic Ready Player One. Asan said, "We actually knew each other beforehand, we did a job together before, so it's all a bit surreal that he's come in and he's playing my dad now.
"It was about a year ago, two years ago, we knew of each other beforehand, it's strange but it's fun."
Michael did admit that he's never really watched Emmerdale before - but admitted that his mum is a HUGE fan, "I've never really watched it to be honest with you, but my grandmother who passed many years ago, it was her favourite show, and it is my mum's favourite show.
"I have to say when I got this job I think she was more excited about me getting this than when I got Spielberg's job."
Emmerdale airs every weeknight at 7pm on ITV, with a second showing on Tuesday nights at 8pm.
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