Emmerdale star reacts as Matthew Wolfenden joins rival soap

 

Emmerdale star Joe-Warren Plant has reacted to his former co-star Matthew Wolfenden making his debut in fellow soap Hollyoaks this week. Plant plays Jacob Sugden in the ITV soap, while Wolfenden played on-screen father figure David Metcalfe.

As of a few days ago, though, Wolfenden is playing Jonah Keane in the Channel 4 soap, and his new stint has already got off to a highly-dramatic start. And even though he is now working on a rival show, Plant is more than excited for his former co-star.

“Oh I’m absolutely over the moon for him, honestly”, Plant said.

“I’ve said it many, many times before but I have so much love for Matthew. He’s done a little bit of panto and a West End show, so it’s nice to see him back on our TV screens again, doing what he does best.”

Wolfenden previously said about his Emmerdale departure that it was down to him landing a role in the stage version of Elf, and being offered a choice.

“They said ‘if we set a precedence to let you out for three months to do that we’ve got to let other people out too.’ And I absolutely understood that,” he said. “My contract was coming to an end and I had this big decision to make, do I leave an 18-year job to do an eight-week show?”

“I was 43 at the time, and I thought, ‘If I don’t do it now then I’ll never do it.’ I absolutely adored [Emmerdale] and [my decision] had nothing to do with the fact that I wasn’t enjoying it anymore, it was just that I wanted to go out and spread my wings.”

ITV’s other soap Coronation Street is currently undertaking a similar story, one that Plant was a major part of almost a decade ago – which was referenced in Emmerdale itself this week.

Speaking about Corrie‘s Will and Megan storyline, Plant said: “I haven’t seen too much of it recently, but I have great faith in the fact that they’re doing an amazing job and also raising awareness for such important topics.

“I can’t stress how important it is for people to be having these conversations, so I’ll have to tune in and see how they do it.”

One of the Dales’ biggest ever stars spent 17 years on the soap, after arriving as the long-lost son of its longest-serving actor. Now Matthew Wolfenden, who played David Metcalfe, is jumping ship to join a rival daytime soap, dashing fans’ hopes that he might return one day.

The 45-year-old actor has joined Cheshire-based soap Hollyoaks, three years after waving goodbye to Emmerdale following an epic stint there.

According to a source in the Sun, the star – who split from ex-wife and fellow Emmerdale alum Charley Webb in 2023, says the move marks an ‘exciting chapter’ for him, as they added, “He’s a big signing for Hollyoaks and is expected to be a hit with viewers.”

Matthew, who has also dabbled in reality TV with a victorious stint on Dancing On Ice in 2012, departed from Emmerdale in late 2023 after snapping up the lead role of Buddy in an eight-week run of Elf the musical in London’s West End.

But after a strict cast rule meant he couldn’t take any time off over the festive period, he made the monumental decision of not renewing his contract for the Leeds-based soap.

His on-screen exit happened in April 2024 – but he wasn’t killed off, meaning the door was always open for a surprise return, something which seems even less likely now.

The father-of-three, who shares sons Buster, Bowie, and Ace with Charley, had previously said of quitting the soap, “My contract was coming to an end, and I had this big decision to make: do I leave an 18-year job to do an eight-week show?

“When you look back, in hindsight, to leave a well-paid job to go and do an eight-week run is a little crazy. I thought if I don’t do it now then I’ll never do it.

He added, “Luckily, John Whiston, the big boss at Emmerdale, wrote me a lovely email saying, ‘Look, we’re not going to kill you off that is not me saying you can come back’ Obviously they can’t say that, but the door will be left open for the character of David, which was very nice.”

Matthew’s character David was the son of Eric Pollard, played by Chris Chittell, who joined in 1986 – making him the show’s longest-serving actor. David left the village

But instead of coming back, Matthew’s experience treading the boards marked the start of a whole new chapter for him. And he is clearly excited to be joining the Hollyoaks crew, as he has begun following not only the show’s official account on Instagram, but some of its standout stars such asKieran Richardson, Anna Passey, Kirsty-Leigh Porter and Ashley Dawson.

Elsewhere, it looks like there are dramatic changes afoot on both Emmerdale and Coronation Street, with bosses thought to be poised to axe one in ten cast members in another round of brutal cost-cutting measures.

Included in the proposed plans are reducing the number of scenes per episode for both soaps, after ITV revealed it was chopping a further £15 million from its total budget.