‘Emmerdale’ Actor John Middleton Discusses Post-Soap Career Hopes

The TV veteran is set to bow out of the ITV soap next year.

‘Emmerdale’ actor John Middleton is set to leave the soap next year, when his character Ashley Thomas’s heartbreaking dementia storyline comes to an end.

While he still has months left on the show, John’s already begun thinking about what he’ll do next.

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John has played Ashley since 1996
ITV Pictures

When asked how he feels about leaving the soap, John says: “There are two huge feelings. One is huge trepidation, and the other is excitement.”

Fortunately, after 20 years on ‘Emmerdale’, he’s not planning to leave the TV world behind, and is already eying other roles.

He adds: “There’s a lot of drama being made out there, and I’m looking forward to being part of it - hopefully! Nothing is guaranteed, but I’d love to be part of this resurgence of television drama and films.”

At present, his character Ashley’s dementia is worsening. Next week, viewers will see him leave his son Arthur in danger, after a momentary memory lapse.

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