Actor Ned Porteous made an unexpected return to Emmerdale as Joe Tate in December, but this isn’t the only soap role he has under his belt, as fans have realised. The actor also had a major role in BBC soap EastEnders in 2016, where he played the son of two soap icons. Joe’s return to the Emmerdale village came as a huge shock to viewers, and to Kim Tate (Claire King). As Joe uncovered Will Taylor’s (Dean Andrews) plot to destroy Kim, he was harbouring a secret of his own, as later scenes proved that he was gravely ill.

Since then, he’s engaged in an affair with Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) – and harboured an addiction to painkillers. With Ned at the forefront of fans’ minds in recent weeks, they were shocked to realise that he had previously played the role of Mark Fowler Jr in EastEnders. Soap fans took to social media to express their surprise at seeing the actor, with one writing: ‘How have I only just found out Joe Tate in Emmerdale is played by the same actor that played Mark Fowler Jr in EastEnders?’.

‘I didn’t know he’d been in EastEnders,’ another said. ‘Ned Porteous back as Joe Tate is awesome but I preferred him playing Mark fowler Jr (Mitchell) in EastEnders. We didn’t have him long enough as Grant’s son,’ A third added. Mark was the son of show stalwarts Michelle Fowler (Jenna Russell) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp), though he had been lied to about his paternity growing up. With the Mitchells knowing the truth about Grant being Mark’s father, they all agreed to keep it under wraps.

However, when Mark and Courtney Mitchell began to grow close, the family were forced to intervene, with Grant stopping the pair from kissing. With Mark unaware that Courtney was his half sister, Grant debated telling him the truth, but eventually decided against it. However, Mark had already worked out that Grant was his biological father, and returned to the US after Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) warned him not to get involved in Grant’s life.

Speaking about joining the show at the time, Ned said: ‘Being part of two iconic families and the longest kept secret in EastEnders history is beyond exciting!. ‘I’m honoured to be here and can’t wait for viewers to properly meet Mark Jr.’. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who’s leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale?. Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews.

Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers!. Ahead of the show’s 40th anniversary, Ross Kemp is set to reprise his role as Grant in the coming weeks. With the soap promising that his return will be ‘nothing short of explosive’, Ross said: ‘I’m delighted to be returning to EastEnders as the show heads towards its 40th anniversary.

‘EastEnders has always meant so much to me, so to return as the show is about to celebrate such a special anniversary, is an absolute honour. ‘Grant has never been far from the action and let’s just say, this time is no different as he certainly comes back with a bang.’. This article was originally published on 13th January 2025. 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.

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