Emmerdale's John Middleton joins Hollyoaks to play show's 'most evil character ever'

John Middleton, who played Emmerdale's kind-hearted vicar Ashley Thomas, is set to resurface in a rival soap, as its "most evil character" ever. The 71-year-old actor, who left Emmerdale in 2017 after his character's harrowing dementia battle, will play a mob boss when he makes his debut in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

His new role will take some getting used to for soap fans, who will remember John as the lovable clergyman, whose heartbreaking death moved viewers to tears. He was part of the ITV soap for more than 20 years, having first played PC John Jarvis briefly in 1994.

He returned with a permanent role in 1997, when the caring and sympathetic vicar Ashley Thomas joined the cast. Ashley's slow deterioration after his dementia diagnosis saw him lose his memory, no longer able to recognise his wife, Laurel and their children.

But there will be no sign of gentle soul Ashley, when John's character Fraser makes his entrance. A source said: "People usually think of Ashley when they see John but that won’t be happening any more, Fraser is about as far away to the kindly vicar you can get."

The insider explained to the Sun: “He’s possibly the most evil character Hollyoaks has ever had - and for a village plagued by serial killers, that’s saying something. Fraser will make his entrance very soon, and he’s got more than one connection to the village with his twisted family already there.”

And the new character's connection to the village will soon be revealed as the father of notorious villain, Fraser Black, played by Jesse Birdsall. The cold, ruthless gangster terrorised the village for around a year, before being murdered in 2014.

Following a 'whodunnit' storyline that went on for several months, his killer was finally unveiled in July 2014. To everyone's shock, he was shot by his own stepson, Freddie Roscoe (Charlie Clapham), in a bid to protect his family.

He is also the grandfather of dodgy Hollyoaks residents Clare Devine, Grace Black and Rex Gallagher. His first meeting with Clare - played by Gemma Bissix - is described as "explosive" with a "real battle" set to ensue.

Clare has been carrying on the family tradition of being an absolute terror recently. She was found out to have been running a secret exploitation ring in the village she used to live in, along with her husband, DI Banks (Drew Cain).

Unaware of Clare's role in the scheme, Grace got involved too, going so far as to groom teenagers with her brother Rex, played by Jonny Labey. Her 'niece' Franke Osborne even fell victim, with her dad Darren heartbreakingly finding out.

Vulnerable teenage characters Frankie and Dillon Ray (Nathaniel Dass) have found themselves in an exploitative situation after they were targeted by criminals and bombarded with attention and gifts. Once lured in by the gang, the friends were encouraged to become addicted to drugs.

Their new addictions meant they had to first sell drugs in order to feed their habit, and then this turned into sexual exploitation. The village turned on Grace when they discovered what she'd done.

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