Emmerdale Paddy legend Dominic Brunt’s real-life wife is also a co-star

Emmerdale’s Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) has had a tumultuous love life since arriving in the village way back in 1997. In real life, actor Dominic Brunt has been much more lucky in love, however, having been married to wife Joanne Mitchell since 2003. But what you might not have realised is that Dominic and Joanne have actually shared the screen on the ITV soap. Joanne has made several guest appearances in the Dales, clocking up a total of 57 episodes between 2003 and 2022.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. She first appeared as DS Karen Barnborough in 2003, with her character investigating Zoe Tate’s (Leah Bracknell) rape. She then played a midwife called Karen Yeo, who looked after Samson Dingle in 2006, before popping up again three years later as CAFCASS officer Susan Davies.

In 2016, Joanne took over the role of Olivia Flaherty’s (Isobel Steele) mum and Aaron Dingle’s (Danny Miller) stepmum Sandra Flaherty from Janet Bamford. She continued to make intermittent appearances until September 2022. Speaking to Inside Soap in 2022 about working with her husband, Joanne said: ‘It’s fun to be on the same show but I’ve not actually worked with him yet. We haven’t had any scenes together as our characters live separate lives in the village.’.

Away from the soap, however, the couple make low-budget horror films together. Speaking to Metro last year, Dominic said: ‘It’s a really positive thing [working together] because with working in Emmerdale for so long, if you’re very busy you can go for like two years where you have to set off at the crack of dawn because I’m nowhere near work – it takes me an hour and a half to get to the village and it takes just under an hour to get to the studio.

‘We live in Hebden Bridge and I’d rather travel to work and travel back, but it means that sometimes you’re ships in the night, passing on the stairs. This is a way we can actually work together and it’s fun. ‘We’re only across the front room opposite each other working stuff out, so it’s really good fun. I don’t know where we’d be without it, actually, because it’s brought us together to do our own thing independently of Emmerdale.’.

Meanwhile, in this week’s Emmerdale, fans will see the aftermath of a deadly stunt that has seen two limousines hurtle towards an frozen lake. There are 16 characters involved in the carnage including Paddy, his wife Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley), Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) and Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), among many others. Understandably, it left actors fearing for their future on the soap, with Dominic admitting: ‘I turned to Lisa Riley and said “are we going to die in this car?”‘.

A minimum of three lives are currently hanging in the balance, with at least one of them dead in a tragic turn of events. To preserve the twists for viewers, Metro has agreed not to confirm who is directly involved, who is dead or which car has made the plunge into the icy depths until after episodes have been transmitted on TV. Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1 or stream first from 7am on ITVX.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you. Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage. Arrow MORE: ‘I pinch myself’ Coronation Street star opens up five months after emotional exit. Arrow MORE: ‘Dying changes you’: TV legend speaks out on terminal cancer diagnosis.