ITV Emmerdale star William Ash's life off-screen from famous cousin to forgotten Corrie role at 10
Emmerdale's William Ash has been captivating ITV soap fans with his cunning portrayal of Caleb Miligan.
In recent episodes, Caleb craftily conned £100k from his terminally ill mother-in-law Helen Fox (played by Sharon Maughan), promising to reconnect her with her long-lost daughter Ruby (portrayed by Beth Cordingly) after three decades apart.
The twist in the tale comes as Caleb's devoted wife Ruby remains oblivious to his treachery, especially tragic as her mother passed away in hospital before a reunion could take place. The question on everyone's lips is whether Caleb will reveal his deception.
Meanwhile, Caleb has been scheming to acquire Will Taylor's (Dean Andrews) haulage business, eyeing up a new project to compete with Home Farm, run by his adversary Kim Tate (Claire King). However, William Ash's real life is a stark contrast to that of his Emmerdale character, reports the Mirror.
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William, 47, hails from Chadderton, near Oldham, where he grew up with an engineer father and a police civilian mother. It was here that he first caught the acting bug.
Although he had a keen interest in drama during his school years, acting wasn't always William's first career choice. He once aspired to be a footballer, influenced by his father's semi-professional football background.
"My dad played a lot of football and played semi professionally and that is what I wanted to do, be a footballer, until I was 16/17," William shared with Inkpellet in a 2012 interview.
Will Taylor and Jeff Hordley, better known as Cain Dingle on Emmerdale, first crossed paths back in their school days. Will gave the lowdown to the Daily Star, saying "We both went to the same school, North Chadderton Comprehensive in Oldham and had a really inspirational drama teacher called Colin Snell who not only inspired us but the likes of Nicola Stephenson and then went on to another school with Jonas Armstrong and Jenna Coleman."
Although Jeff was a tad older, the pair shared the stage in a school play, setting off a friendship that's lasted for decades.
From his early acting ambitions, Will snagged a cameo role in Coronation Street as Spike at just 10 years old in 1987.
He didn't stop there though; he made brief appearances in hits like Heartbeat in the '90s and became a familiar face in Children's Ward between 1989 - 1991.
As he continued collecting acting credits, Will secured more regular roles on TV shows such as Beck, Where the Heart Is, Soldier Soldier, Burn It, and Clocking Off.
Entering the 2000s saw Will recognised as a stellar actor, making waves in beloved series, even scoring a spot on BBC favourite Doctor Who.
William Ash enjoyed a memorable three-year run on the hit BBC drama Waterloo Road from 2009 to 2011, where he portrayed Chris Mead, the deputy head teacher of the troubled school who controversially became involved with his boss' daughter.
He's also graced our screens in ITV's chilling series 'The Loch' and took on the character Marvin in the British TV drama 'Wanderlust'.
It seems acting prowess is a family trait, as William's cousin is none other than Coronation Street's Peter Ash. Peter, known for his role as Paul Foreman on the cobbles, first made his Weatherfield debut in 2018.
Sadly, his character Paul was written out of the show following a heart-wrenching motor neurone disease storyline, passing away on September 9.
Peter Ash isn't just a Corrie phenomenon; he's also remembered for his portrayal of Darius Fry in 'Footballer's Wives' from 2003 to 2006.
Reflecting on his cousin's venture into soapland last year, Peter expressed his pride to The Metro: "He's doing great work. I'm loving it. I'm loving it, go on the Ash's".
Away from the Emmerdale limelight, William Ash prefers to keep his personal life private, shying away from social media. Despite this, it's known that he's a devoted dad to two kids and is said to reside in Greater Manchester with his family.
Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour long episode every Thursday