Ned Porteous has been at the centre of a whirlwind of drama in the fictional village of Emmerdale, as his character Joe Tate is currently suffering from chronic kidney failure. However, fans may not be aware that Ned is no stranger to a jam-packed acting schedule, as he has appeared in several other hit TV shows, including EastEnders and Netflix’s Bridgerton.
In recent episodes on the ITV soap, Joe has been engaging in a casual relationship with Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley), despite her being married to Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle). Away from the romantic fling, it was recently revealed that Joe has kidney disease and has been searching for an eligible donor.
He admitted to spiking Noah in attempt to get him into surgery for his kidney. But his plan failed, and unfortunately led to Noah causing the tragic limo crash which killed Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough), Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson) and Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi). As a result, Joe is in the process of searching for another eligible donor, and fans are convinced it will be none other than fan favourite Caleb Miligan.
Ned returned to Emmerdale on Christmas Day 2024 after taking a break from the soap in 2018. He has had his fair share of drama in the village, as his character was supposedly killed off before it was revealed he was alive and living abroad.
He made his acting debut in 2015, when he appeared as Rufus Lucas on BBC medical drama Holby City. Following this, he then featured in thirteen episodes of BBC’s EastEnders in 2016, where he portrayed Mark Fowler, Michelle Fowler’s son.
A year later, Ned made his first appearance in the Yorkshire village on ITV, where he portrayed a young businessman named Tom Waterhouse. But this name turned out to be an alias, and later revealed to be Joe Tate.
He is the orphaned son of Christopher Tate and Rachel Hughes as well as the half-brother of Noah Dingle. Joe is also the half-nephew of Caleb Miligan. Caleb’s dad Frank Tate is the half-brother of Joe’s dad Christopher.
In 2018, the actor won Best Soap Newcomer at the TV Choice Awards, and was also nominated for Best Bad Boy and Best Exit at the Inside Soap Awards. Away from soap land, Ned also dipped his toe into a star-studded Netflix drama, taking on the role of Lord Wetherby in season one of Bridgerton. He played Henry Granville’s (Julian Ovenden) lover in the first season of the hit show in 2020.
After taking a short break, Ned reprised his role as the scheming bad boy on Emmerdale, reappearing in the village at the end of 2024. Speaking about his return to the ITV soap, Ned said: “I’m so excited to be returning to Emmerdale. There’s a lot of unfinished business for Joe, and it feels like the right time for him to make a comeback.
“Joe has always been a character with a dark side, but there could be something much bigger at play here. Joe is back for a reason, and the devastation at Home Farm is just the beginning of a much bigger story. It’s safe to say the audience can expect fireworks this holiday season!”
Off-screen, Ned is relatively private about his personal life. But he has recently sparked speculation about a potential split from his girlfriend Sophia Lo, reports Leeds Live.
The couple removed all photos of each other from their social media accounts, including some holidays in Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park in California, as well as images taken at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and during trips to Asia and Vietnam.