An Emmerdale star is married to a famous TV soap star — and you’ll be ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED when you find out who it is.
Emmerdale legend Dominic Brunt isn't the only TV star in his family, as his wife has also starred on the ITV soap and Coronation Street.
Emmerdale legend Dominic Brunt, who plays the beloved vet Paddy Kirk, has a famous wife who has also starred on the ITV soap. Since arriving in the village in 1997, Paddy has risen the ranks to become one of British television’s most recognisable soap stars, and is cherished by fans of the show.
Over the years, Dominic’s character Paddy has been embroiled in several major storylines, including cheating scandals and the devastating loss of his child. Earlier this year, Paddy discovered his father, Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards), had been trafficked and was subsequently charged in connection with the murder of Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), but narrowly avoided prison.
Dominic Brunt is married to famous television star (Image: Getty)
On Emmerdale, Paddy has had four wives, including Mandy Dingle, Emily Dingle, Rhona Goskirk, and Chas Dingle. He is now living happily with her first wife, Mandy (Lisa Riley), after they remarried in August 2024.
Away from the bright lights of the Dales, Dominic, 56, leads a quieter family life in Yorkshire with his wife and their two children, Mickey-Joe and Danny Lee.
The actor married his wife, Joanne Mitchell, in 2003, but the pair had known each other for years before they tied the knot, as they both attended The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Like Dominic, Joanne is also a television star and has appeared on Emmerdale in four different roles.
In 2003, she played DS Karen Barnborough before returning three years later as a midwife called Yeo. In 2009, Joanne returned as Susan Davies (2009), before taking on the role of Sandra Flaherty, the mother and stepmother of Liv Flaherty (Izzy Steel) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), between 2016 and 2022.
Joanne also played Mrs. Turner in Waterloo Road, Marsha Clifton in Coronation Street, and Joan Atkins in A Touch of Frost, among a long list of other shows. She is also a star off-camera, as Joanne is a director and producer with credits including the movies Evie and Wolf Manor.
Joanne played Sandra Flaherty in Emmerdale (Image: ITV)
Not only has she appeared on television, but Joanne has also held roles in a variety of film and stage productions. In 2011, with both husband and wife having careers in acting, they set up their own company, Mitchell Brunt Films.
Speaking about working with his wife both on-screen and producing movies together, Dominic told the Metro in 2024: “It’s a really positive thing because with working in Emmerdale for so long, if you’re very busy you can go for like two years where you have to set off at the crack of dawn because I’m nowhere near work – it takes me an hour and a half to get to the village and it takes just under an hour to get to the studio.
“We live in Hebden Bridge and I’d rather travel to work and travel back, but it means that sometimes you’re ships in the night, passing on the stairs. This is a way we can actually work together and it’s fun. They’re low-budget horror films.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX
