The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera Emmerdale in 2004, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the soap's executive producer, Keith Richardson.
Val Pollard
Carl King
Jimmy King
Tom King
Noah Dingle
Noah Dingle (also Tate, Sharma, and Macey) is the son of Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Chris Tate (Peter Amory). He appeared from March 2004 to 2005, and returned in October 2009 along with Charity. Noah is born while Charity was serving a life sentence for Chris' murder, even though Chris had actually committed suicide. Noah's paternity was doubtful as Charity had recently slept with her cousins, Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), as well as Chris, but DNA tests confirm that Noah is Chris' son. Charity, knowing she could not keep Noah with her in prison, sold him to Chris' sister Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell). In return for this, Zoe tells the court that Chris framed Charity for murder and she is freed. The courts, however, do not allow Zoe to adopt Noah, due to her current workload, other family commitments and mental illness, so Charity takes him back and leaves the village. Charity and Noah return to the village when Charity discovers that her fiancé, Michael, has been having an affair with her daughter, Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb). After the wedding is called off, Charity and Noah move in with Debbie and her daughter, Sarah Sugden (Sophia Amber Moore). Charity sends Noah to the local primary school as he is too old to go to playgroup with Sarah.
Noah believes that Michael was his father, so he was crushed to discover that Chris was dead. Charity raises Noah's hopes by getting engaged to Cain. Noah asks Cain to be his father and Cain, becoming tearful, tells Noah that he will always be there for him. Noah is thrilled, and is pleased to be living with Charity, Cain, Debbie and Sarah. Noah lives happily in Tug Ghyll up until early 2011 when Cain gets paranoid about Charity and Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) apparently having an affair. Charity is devastated when Cain sleeps with Faye Lamb (Kim Thomson); she realises that there is a spark between her and Jai, and moves into Holdgate Farm with Jai, Noah and the Sharma family. Noah begins to miss Cain and is later crushed when Charity announces her engagement to Jai. Noah begins to warm to Jai, and tells him that he "doesn't mind" him marrying Charity, as long as he doesn't have to call him his father, like he did with Michael and Cain. Secretly, Noah does not think that the wedding will ever happen, so he is shocked when Charity marries Jai. Instead of having children, Jai asks Charity if he can adopt Noah but they only settle on changing Noah's name to Sharma.
Noah is responsible for bullying Liv Flaherty (Isobel Steele) online, which is discovered by Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), who threatens him with shutting down his website. Noah suffers from a drug overdose and kidney failure to help Sarah, who is hiding drugs for Danny Harrington (Louis Healy). Noah is rushed to hospital after being found in the woods. Sarah begs him not to tell Charity, as she knows how much trouble she would be in. On Christmas Day, she tries to bribe Noah by giving him a wad of cash to keep him quiet, but he says that he still needs to make up his mind. When Noah is released from hospital, Sarah takes the time to lay out the foods he is supposed to eat, but Noah wants to rest.
Stalking Chloe Harris
Noah forms romantic feelings for Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland), which disgusts Sarah since she feels that he will ruin her friendship with Chloe. He begins telling people that she is his girlfriend, which Chloe is shocked to learn. However, after meeting him in secret a few times, Chloe forms romantic feelings for Noah, which their families are not pleased about. Charity and Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) ban the pair from seeing each other, due to feeling that their relationship would bring trouble for both families. Elland compared the couple's situation to Romeo and Juliet and noted that they see each other as a "way to be happy and free". In a bid to be together, they plan an escape from the village, and Chloe begins to see Noah as an "escape route" from her controlling father. She confirmed that although her character does like Noah, but her main reason for executing the plan is to escape her home. However, they are soon found and taken back home. Elland said that the runaway scenes were fun to film since she enjoyed working with Downham on location and the weather was nice at the time.
After Chloe loses interest in Noah, she has sex with Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant). After Noah learns of it, he loses his temper and brands her a "dirty slapper". He attempts to apologise to Chloe and brings her flowers, but she affirms that he is toxic and his wording was unacceptable. He snaps once again, throwing the flowers across the room and calling her a "village bike". The Metros Calli Kitson worried for Chloe if Noah were to show more of his "sexism and toxic attitude". Lindsay (Metro) later confirmed that the story regarding Noah and Chloe was heading in a dark direction and said that he is capable of evil to pursue Chloe, despite her not wanting a relationship with him. Chloe spends the night with Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), which Noah discovers. In an attempt to get Chloe back on his good side, he offers to take her for a drink to which she declines. Noah is "left angered by the apparent lack of reward for his apology" and is angered further when he learns of Chloe's fling with Nate.
Chloe had set her sights on Nate, who rejects her. Chloe then has to "deal with not getting her own way" and Noah takes advantage of Chloe's vulnerable state by getting close to her. His sudden change of attitude leads her to think Noah has "turned over a new leaf" and makes her keen to patch up her bond with him. However, Chloe sees her connection to Noah as a friendship. Elland explained that Chloe is engrossed in her feelings for Nate which means she cannot see that Noah's dishonest apologies and bad attitude. However, Elland confirmed that the storyline would eventually take a twist. She praised Emmerdale for covering a storyline about misogyny and sexism, a topic she described as "such a relevant conversation, especially in this day and age". Noah buys Chloe concert tickets, but uninterested in going with him, she leaves him for Nate. This leaves Noah "feeling vengeful" and a "dark choice" leads him to steal her phone. He plants a tracker on her phone so that he can show up in the same places as her, which he claims are coincidences. He pretends to have found her missing phone, and with Chloe thankful for him, he uses Chloe's gratitude to his advantage by getting her to agree to a date. Later, he buys a drone and flies it outside her bedroom window, recording her. Noah then steals her keys, lets himself into her bedroom and snoops around, taking photographs of her belongings, including her underwear drawer. However, she comes home unexpectedly, and he hides in her wardrobe.
In early May 2022, Noah takes Chloe hostage. Chloe is horrified to find thousands of photographs of herself and her belongings on her laptop which prove that he has been stalking her for weeks. She confronts him on the photographs, and Noah reacts badly, by refusing to let her leave and holding her mouth as she tries to scream for help. Downham, who portrays Noah, said that in his research for the storyline, he learned that many stalkers do not realise what they are doing is wrong. He found that Noah is the same, as he believes he is just trying to get Chloe's attention. Despite his constant belief that he has done nothing wrong to Chloe, he pleads guilty in court and is sentenced to three months in prison.
Aubrey Bedford
Aubrey Bedford is an estate agent who first appears when he shows Tom King (Kenneth Farrington) around Holdgate Farm in March 2004, when Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell) gave him first refusal after she found out the Dingle family had been powering their home from Holdgate. Tom liked the house and subsequently bought it. Aubrey then appeared again when he was hired by Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) to sell The Grange in July 2004. When Rodney Blackstock is trying to buy Home Farm, he decides to sell his house. Aubrey looks around the house, but is more interested in Rodney's son Paul Lambert. To get Aubrey away from Paul, Rodney agrees to flirt with Aubrey. Aubrey likes older men, so Rodney's attentions make him more invested in helping Rodney. Ultimately the sale does not go through because Rodney does not get Home Farm. Aubrey continues to appear on a recurring basis between 2004-2008.
Aubrey returns to the village in January 2015 when Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward) decided to sell Tug Ghyll, which fell through. Aubrey then returned again in December 2015 to discuss the sale of Diane Sugden's half of The Woolpack.
Matthew King
Colleen King
Colleen King, played by Melanie Ash, is the first wife of Carl King (Tom Lister), appearing in 2004, 2005 and 2010.
Colleen is divorced from Carl, with whom she had two children Thomas (Jack Ferguson; Connor Hill) and Anya (Ceryen Dean; Millie Archer). She has custody of the children, and appears in the village briefly in 2004 and 2005 when they visit Carl. Colleen returns in January 2010 with Thomas and Anya as she was going to visit her new husband, Stefan, in hospital after he has been injured in a work accident, and her sister wills not have them so she drops them off at Carl's whilst she nurses Stefan back to health. In April 2010, Colleen returns to and told Carl she wanted to emigrate to Saudi Arabia and take the children with her. She left with Thomas and Anya the following day.
In 2023, Colleen dies of a heart attack, off-screen.
Thomas King
Thomas King is the son of Carl (Tom Lister) and Colleen King (Melanie Ash). He appeared between 2004–2007 and 2009 played by Jack Ferguson, and by Connor Hill in 2010, followed by Mark Flanagan between 2012-2013. He returned in April 2023 on a regular basis, played by James Chase. On 26 July 2024, it was announced that Chase had quit the role and would depart the series when his storyline had concluded and Tom departed on 19 December 2024. He then returned in February 2025 in a guest appearance.
Named after his grandfather, Tom King (Kenneth Farrington), Thomas's parents separated when he was young. He first appears in 2004 when his mother tells Carl she wants a divorce and initially refuses to let him see the children. However, Thomas and his sister, Anya (Ceryen Dean; Lauren Sheriston), visit their father in 2005, 2006 and June 2007. In February 2009, he and Anya visit to meet their new future stepmother, Lexi Nicholls (Sally Oliver). Thomas is meant to attend the wedding but stays at home, due to chicken pox. In January 2010, Colleen arrives with the children, asking Carl to look after them as her husband has had an accident at work. They move into Mill Cottage temporarily. Thomas and Anya cause problems for Ashley (John Middleton) and Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) and Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox). In April, Colleen returns and tells Carl she wants to emigrate to Saudi Arabia and take the children with her and they leave the next day. Thomas and Anya return eight months later on Christmas Eve in preparation for Carl's ill-fated wedding to Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) the following day but the wedding ends when Chas jilts Carl due to his affair with Eve Jenson (Suzanne Shaw). Carl takes Thomas and Anya back home to Saudi Arabia.