EMMERDALE fans were left stunned after they spotted Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous in rival soap role.
Ned Porteous, who plays the scheming Joe Tate in Emmerdale, surprised many fans when they discovered he had previously appeared in EastEnders.
Emmerdale viewers were left stunned after the actor made a surprise return to the Dales during the festive period.
The character came back to the village after six years away to bring down Kim Tate (Claire King), alongside her husband Will Taylor (Dean Andrews).
The plot took a jaw-dropping twist when Will suffered a fatal heart attack after Joe’s bombshell revelations.
With Will’s tragic passing, a heartbroken Kim is left reeling, while Joe steps into the role of the supportive step-grandson, pretending to be there for her.
Meanwhile, viewers saw Joe looking unwell in his room at the B&B, rummaging through his bag and taking pills.
Last week, he even asked Dawn Taylor for painkillers, leaving Kim deeply worried.
Will Joe open up about his health issues, or is he keeping it a secret for a reason?
But now soap fans are just realising the actor appeared in a rival soap EastEnders back in 2016.
Eight years ago, he appeared on the BBC soap EastEnders as Mark Fowler Jr, a member of the Mitchell family.
He played the son of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Joe Tate in shock collapse as he suffers a seizure – and mystery over Emmerdale return deepens” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6366909874112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]His storyline involved jetting in from Florida to London on a mission to find his biological father, Grant.
But, his stay was short and sweet as he went back to the States after just a month.
A long time before that, Pauline Fowler’s (Wendy Richard) daughter Michelle dramatically legged it to the USA, keeping quiet about her pregnancy.
Mark Jr was born off-screen in 1996, and it took two whole decades before the explosive secret about the Mitchell/Fowler offspring was finally unveiled.
Taking to social media, a shocked Emmerdale fan wrote: “How have I only just found out Joe Tate in #Emmerdale is played by the same actor that played Mark Fowler Jr in #EastEnders”.
Another added: “I didn’t know he’d been in EastEnders.”
A third penned: “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. #Emmerdale #Eastenders.”
A fourth said: “I didn’t know that Joe [has] been in Bridgerton, and EastEnders as Mark Jnr.”