Ethan Anderson,[2] played by Emile John, made his first appearance in episode 8937, first broadcast on 7 January 2021.[3] Ethan is introduced as the son of vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin).[4] Ethan's character and casting details were announced on 26 November 2020, alongside that of Charles'. Ethan was described as "intelligent", and Digital Spy noted that he "inherited his father's strong sense of justice and worked hard to carve himself a successful law career".[5] It was also stated that Ethan would be accused and arrested of a crime he did not commit, which would lead to a rivalry between himself and the established Dingle family.[4] Ethan works at a law firm after years of "working hard for a successful career", and John confirmed that the storyline would have "consequences" on his career.[6]

Producer Sophie Roper stated that Emmerdale are "delighted" to be welcoming John to the soap, and noted the "dynamic new father and son duo" will "send shockwaves through the village as they find themselves embroiled in the heart of a thought-provoking story with one of our most loved families", referring to the Dingle family. She added: "With two actors of such great calibre, they're certainly set to make their mark on the Dales."[4] Producers later confirmed that Ethan will be a heavily featured character in 2021, with the younger cast getting a focus throughout the year,[7] and Ethan set to have a "longer-term story arc" after the conclusion of the justice storyline.[3] John stated that playing Ethan is "a dream", and on the storyline, he stated: "I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility in articulating his struggle with truth and authenticity and I can only hope that the audience fully engage with him in the same way I have."[4] He added that Ethan's arrival in the village would be "far from quiet", and revealed that Ethan's presence in the village will have "huge consequences" for other characters.[8]

Ethan attends a stag party with his friends at the Woolpack, where Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) hides a bag of drugs inside of his coat pocket, since she needs to get rid of the drugs quickly. When the police arrive at the party, they discover the drugs in his pocket, and this leads to Ethan getting arrested. He is later released on bail, but is suspended from his law firm, leading him to demand justice from Sarah. Charles advises him not to cause a rivalry between himself and the Dingle family, but feeling he has worked too hard for his career to be ruined, he continues to demand justice for himself.

Russell Posner, played by Rob Jarvis, made his first appearance on 17 August 2021. Jarvis' casting was announced on 12 August 2021, with his character being described as a "mystery newcomer" set to be involved in a storyline for Wendy Posner (Susan Cookson); his connection to Wendy was not initially revealed.[9] His initial scenes see him approach Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon) for information on Wendy and he confirms that he will be sticking around in the village to see her.[9] Russell was later confirmed to be Wendy's abusive ex-husband. He confronts Wendy about his dead mother leaving Harry Sugden (Brody and Teddy Hall) money in her will rather than him. He tells Wendy that if she does not help him to get the inheritance from Harry, her and Harry's mother Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) will "face consequences".[10]

On 31 August 2021, it was confirmed that Russell would hold Wendy and Victoria hostage in a siege at the Hide café to get his money.[11] Speaking about the plot, Jarvis said that Russell tells Wendy that he has been involved in an armed robbery and that the police are after him. Jarvis opined that Russell does not want to shoot anyone, but sees a siege as a last resort to getting the money he needs. The actor also felt that Russell would be capable of shooting someone due to the desperation of his situation. Despite the state of their relationship, Jarvis stated that his character likely still has feelings for Wendy, due to the pair sharing children together.[12] Following the police being called to the siege, Russell is imprisoned and Jarvis made his final appearance on 16 September 2021.[13]

Chloe Harris, played by Jessie Elland, made her first appearance on 20 August 2021.[14] Elland's casting and the details surrounding Chloe's character were announced on 6 August 2021. Chloe is the sister of a woman named Gemma who died in a car accident; she is contacted by Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill), who received the heart of her dead sibling as part of a transplant operation. It was confirmed that she would form friendships with Sarah and Noah Dingle (Jack Downham). Elland was told by her agent in May 2021 that she had received an audition for Emmerdale. She filmed a self-tape from home with her mother and a week later, she was invited to the studios for a screen test. This was Elland's first in-person audition, which she expressed her nervousness at. She performed a scene with cast member Karen Blick and a few weeks afterwards, Elland received a call to say she had received the part of Chloe. Elland looked forward to her costume and has admitted her jealousy for her character's wardrobe, praising the costume department at Emmerdale for their talent. Elland did not have to change her natural red hair for the role, which she was happy about due to not feeling she would look good with darker hair. Elland described Chloe as a sweet and genuine character who is eager to please people and form connections with them. Despite this upbeat persona, she said that Chloe struggles with various dark emotions such as anger and sadness due to her sad experiences throughout her life. She cited these experiences with making Chloe have a "sense of determination to go out and get what she wants".[15]

Elland was asked by Metro's Duncan Lindsay if she was similar to or different from her character; she initially felt that Chloe is very different from her in real life. The actress saw Chloe as "more naive, vulnerable, and super sweet" than herself, as well as having a fancy car and numerous Swarovski bracelets.[15] However, as she got more into her tenure, Elland began to see similarities to her character. Elland felt that she is as determined as her character and noticed that both her and Chloe value sisterhood; both between Chloe and Gemma and a newly-found sisterhood between Chloe and Sarah. Speaking more on Chloe's bond with Sarah, Elland explained that Chloe wants to know Sarah from a place of desperation. She is desperate to talk about her dead sister Gemma since her family have denied her the chance to do so; she also "wants the reassurance that something good came from something so awful".[15]

Gavin, played by Ben Richards, made his first appearance on 25 November 2021. Richards confirmed his casting on 7 October 2021 via Twitter, where he wrote that he was "chuffed" to be appearing on Emmerdale.[16] It was later confirmed that Gavin would act as a villain on the soap and would be a business partner of Al Chapman (Michael Wildman). Richards was doing a gig on a ship when he learned of his audition for the role of Gavin and filmed his self-tape audition in a cabin. When he read the brief for the role, he felt that he knew exactly how to portray Gavin and felt that he was well written. He was also attracted to the role as he finds it "so much fun to play a baddie" since he felt that they are more interesting than nice characters.[17] Digital Spy confirmed that Gavin was a recurring character and asked Richards if he would take on a regular role on the soap, to which he replied that if viewers want more Gavin, he would be happy to portray him for a longer tenure.[17]

On his character, Richards said that Gavin has a lot of danger about him but is not brutal. He explained that Gavin is "clever and cultured – he's a modern-day gangster and doesn't get his own hands dirty if he wants something doing".[17] When asked about his character's backstory, Richards said that Gavin grew up on a council estate in poverty but began a loan shark business through charging high interest rates. He said that Gavin has a number of customers who cannot lend money from a bank and hinted that people who do not pay him back end up in hospital. Richards said that when Al and Gavin interact, Al becomes "out of his depth" due to Gavin and his investors being very serious; he also hinted that Al and his relatives are in danger with Gavin.[17] He also revealed that he had been filming with Jeff Hordley and opined that Gavin is a match for his character, Cain Dingle. He added that their scenes together are "explosive and really exciting to play".[17]

Carol Butler, played by Laura Pitt-Pulford, made her first appearance on 24 December 2021. Pitt-Pulford's casting was confirmed on 13 December 2021.[18] Carol was introduced as the sister of Nadine Butler, who was murdered by Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) several years prior to her arrival in the village.

Carol meets with Meena's sister, Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker), and tells her what Meena did to Nadine, which involved manipulating and isolating Nadine from her family and friends, leading to Meena murdering her. She warns Manpreet that Meena is dangerous. She later attends Meena's trial once she is arrested, but walks out after an outburst regarding the court not prosecuting Meena for Nadine's murder due to lack of evidence. Carol ends up smashing a mirror in a fit of rage, injuring her hand. When Meena is found guilty for her crimes, she throws a huge tantrum and Carol angrily confronts her in the courtroom. Meena mocks Nadine and says that Nadine was so irrelevant that she was not even charged for her death. Carol then furiously stabs Meena with a piece of glass from the broken mirror, but she survives, and Carol is arrested.[19]

• Characters and cast at itv.com
• Characters and cast at IMDb