List of Emmerdale characters introduced in 2016
Emmerdale is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2016, by order of first appearance. Pierce Harris, the husband of established character Tess Harris, was introduced in February, along with Ryan Harred and Aaron Livesy's half-sister, [|Liv Flaherty]. The first birth of the year was in March when Megan Macey and Jai Sharma's daughter, Eliza Sharma, was born. Holly Barton's ex-boyfriend [|Dean] first appeared in March, while Ronnie Hale was introduced in April as a relation to the White family. Tracy Shankley's father, [|Frank Clayton] joined the show in August and Dotty Thomas made the second birth of the year in September. Lawrence White's daughter, Rebecca White, was introduced in October and the final character to be introduced in 2016 was [|Will Scott], who made his first appearance in December. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] appeared in 2016.
DS Jason Wise
DS Jason Wise, played by Neil Roberts is the detective who investigates the historic sex abuse allegations brought by Aaron Livesy against his father Gordon Livesy. Two weeks later, DS Wise lets Aaron's mother Chas Dingle off with a warning after she vandalises Gordon's car and tells his neighbours that Gordon abuses children. A few days later, Robert Sugden gives DS Wise Gordon's ex-wife Sandra Flaherty's address. Sandra denies knowing anything and refuses to be a witness for the defence or prosecution. DS Wise informs Aaron that another victim has come forward and that they now have enough evidence to charge Gordon. However, he later informs Chas and Robert that the witness has retracted his statement, but Gordon will still be charged. DS Wise attends Gordon's plea hearing, where Chas asks him why he did not say anything about Gordon faking the side effects of his cancer treatment. Gordon later tells DS Wise that the other witness was paid to give evidence against him and sends him after his daughter Liv Flaherty. Gordon is found guilty on all charges. Before Gordon's sentence hearing, DS Wise takes Liv home after she is caught shoplifting and he lets slip about the hearing. Days later, DS Wise breaks the news to Aaron and Liv that Gordon has died in prison. The following day, Liv texts DS Wise from Chas' phone asking him to come round quickly. When he arrives, Liv tells him Robert is responsible for Gordon's death, but DS Wise explains Gordon committed suicide. A few weeks later, DS Wise asks Chas out for a drink and she accepts. After their date, Chas invites him up to her room, but when DS Wise knocks over a box of old photos, she orders him to leave. He later return to arrest Robert. DS Wise questions Dawn Taylor when DI Mark Malone does not show up to work after she had filed a complaint about him. Wise returns to question Kim Tate and Will Taylor about the death of Craig Reed and Kim reveals her horse trampled Craig to death after accidentally getting free.Pierce Harris
Pierce Harris, played by Jonathan Wrather, made his first screen appearance on 11 February 2016. The character and Wrather's casting was announced on 10 January 2016. Of his casting, Wrather said "I am thrilled to be joining Emmerdale. It's a great opportunity to be offered the chance to create a new character in one of TV's most popular shows and I'm very excited to be working with such an outstanding cast and team." Pierce is the husband of established character, Tess Harris and has been mentioned on several occasions since Tess' arrival. Tess has been having an affair with Paddy Kirk, who was described as not expecting to meet Tess' husband.. Pierce returned again in flashback scenes that aired on 20th January 2026.Pierce turns up at the hospital to see his wife Tess, who was admitted after being struck by a car driven by a drunk Kirin Kotecha. Tess' friends, Paddy and his wife Rhona Goskirk, introduce themselves to Pierce, but he is led away by the doctors who want to discuss Tess' operation. Pierce is later told that Tess has died during surgery due to her injuries, and he rushes from the hospital. The following month, Pierce was given personal items of Tess' that were in her car. He discovered Tess had been having an affair and had a secret phone. He also found a brochure for the Mill Cottage development and wanted to have a look. Before looking at the development he went into The Woolpack for a drink where he saw Paddy and Rhona. He revealed that he had Tess's affair phone, which made Paddy squirm. Paddy's best friend Marlon Dingle came to his rescue, but Rhona, who knew about the affair, agreed to meet with Pierce the following day. Pierce showed Rhona some of the texts Tess had sent to her lover, and after learning they were texting on Christmas Day and planning to go to Paris, Rhona cracked and revealed to Pierce that Paddy was Tess' mystery man.
Pierce wrote numerous bad reviews for Paddy and Rhona's vet's surgery on a local business review site. Rhona realised he was behind them and confronted Pierce. Pierce tried to make Rhona see was kidding herself that she could patch up her marriage to Paddy. A few days later, Pierce handed out flyers on Hotten Road hoping to find a witness to Tess' death. Pierce handed Rhona and her friend Vanessa Woodfield one, so Rhona invited him back to Smithy Cottage for a cup of tea. Pierce explained he had moved into a hotel since Tess died, so Rhona allowed him to temporarily stay with her and son Leo for a few days as she and Paddy had split up. Pierce continued looking for answers on how Tess died, and questioned Rakesh Kotecha about if he knew Tess, as Rakesh's was the owner of the flat development Tess had a brochure of. Rakesh denied knowing Tess but Rhona later admitted that Rakesh's son Kirin was the police's main suspect in Tess' death before he scarpered. Pierce confronted Rakesh and called the police to say Rakesh was covering for his son. PC Williams visited Pierce and told him as there was no evidence of Rakesh being in contact with Kirin, the police couldn't do anything, although she told him the investigation was still ongoing. Pierce's manipulative relationship with Rhona ended in marriage but his insecurity and jealousy caused him to rape her on their wedding night.
Pierce is found guilty of rape in July 2017 and sentenced to five years in prison. He is released on parole two and a half years later. Wrather reprised his role in 2020 in a previously unannounced twist. He returns as part of a "whodunnit" story focusing on the murder of Graham Foster, where he is exposed as Graham's murderer. Wrather's return was kept secret from the cast and crew with the character's name hidden in the scripts. He explained that he was told more about the story in small snippets and did not confirm how long Pierce would return for.
Pierce was responsible for kidnapping Vanessa Woodfield And Johnny Woodfield Due to the fact Vanessa threatened to expose him. A terrified Rhona sees Pierce out of prison. She gets Pierce to confess to murdering Graham on video footage. Enraging him, Pierce gets stabbed in his arm with horse tranquilliser and is then arrested for Graham’s murder and kidnap. Offscreen, Pierce pleads guilty to murder. He is then sentenced to life in prison for Graham's murder, Vanessa and Johnny's kidnapping and false imprisonment. Pierce's son, Marcus Dean, is informed that Pierce has died whilst in prison from cancer.
Ryan Harred
Ryan Harred, played by George Sampson, made his first screen appearance on 22 February 2016. Sampson's casting was announced on 14 January 2016 and originally appeared in four episodes. Show producers reintroduced the character for four episodes between May and July 2016.On his casting, Sampson said, "I'm really excited to play a guest part in Emmerdale. The cast and crew have been really friendly, and the village is a spectacular place to be. It's such an iconic show and it's brilliant to be able to be a part of it." Sampson's character and storyline were initially kept secret ahead of his first scenes. The actor later revealed that his character is called Ryan and would be sharing scenes with Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden. Sampson described Ryan as "a lads' lad. He's a local guy who just wants to intervene in people's business. Where he can get what he wants in a certain situation, he will do so." On 15 June 2016, Sampson expressed an interest in joining the show's main cast.
Ryan first appears outside Gordon Livesy's house when his ex-wife Chas Dingle spraypaints "paedo" on his car, following the recent revelation, that Gordon abused their son, Aaron, when he was a child. Robert pays Ryan to be an invented sexual abuse victim so that Gordon can be charged after the abuse allegations made by Aaron are taken seriously. Chas discovers this and warns Robert that she will tell Aaron, but he convinces her not to. Aaron eventually learns the truth and implores Ryan to retract his statement, which he agrees to do. Ryan runs into Gordon's daughter Liv Flaherty and she realises Ryan was the invented sexual abuse victim. Liv offers him £50,000 to tell the police the truth and Ryan agrees, but when Liv decides against the agreement, she cannot contact Ryan and Robert is arrested. Ryan later arrives at the pub, wanting the money he feels he is owed by Liv. Robert refuses to give him the money and Ryan threatens to report Robert for assault so Robert kidnaps Ryan. The next day, Ryan begs Robert to let him go and he does, which Aaron oversees. When Ryan confesses he is in £200 debt, Robert gives him £100 and warns him never to return to the village.
Liv Flaherty
Liv Flaherty, played by Isobel Steele, made her first screen appearance on 25 February 2016. The character and casting was announced on 16 February. Liv is the daughter of Sandra Flaherty and Gordon Livesy and the half-sister of Aaron Dingle. She was introduced as part of Aaron's child sex abuse storyline.Liv became the first asexual character to be featured on a soap opera, and Steele has been praised by viewers and critics for her role in the storyline. Liv's other storylines have seen her become an alcoholic, be imprisoned for spiking Lisa Dingle's drink with ketamine, form relationships with Jacob Gallagher and Vinny Dingle, be diagnosed with epilepsy, and expose numerous criminals for their behaviour. Within months of her debut appearance, Steele was nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer. She was then nominated for three further Newcomer awards, winning one at the TVTimes Awards. Steele has also been awarded two awards for Best Young Actor.