Emmerdale is poised for a newbie to stir things up on the Dales this week as the ITV soap has a surprise for its resident vicar.
Charles Anderson, played by Kevin Mathurin, is set for a shock as he's about to be reunited with his long-lost daughter Naomi in upcoming scenes.
Naomi is the daughter of of Charles and his ex-wife Esme, who welcomed Naomi into the world 22 years ago – unbeknownst to the vicar until recently.
After discovering the shock news that he has a child a few months ago, Charles is set to finally come face-to-face with Naomi, played by Karene Peter.
Some eagle-eyed viewers may recognise the actress from some of her previous TV work. But, what else do we know about the rising star?
How old is Karene Peter?
Actress Karene is 31. She didn't document her 31st birthday on her Instagram but did, however, mark her 30th in January 2021 with an inspirational message.
Karene shared a string of photos of herself looking stunning in a marble print dress while holding a balloon with the number 30 on.
In the caption the rising star gushed: "Grateful is an understatement. I know for many people this past year has been all manner of things, but in all honesty I have been nothing but blessed with lessons, opportunities, growth, beautiful friends, family and more.⠀
"Thank you for all the well wishes, beautiful words and love. ⠀
"Here’s to everlasting abundance in this human experience".
The youthful-looking actress is nine years older than her Emmerdale character, as Naomi is 22, but if anyone can pull off portraying a younger character she can!
Which shows has Karene Peter previously featured in?
ITV soap Emmerdale isn't actress Karene's first gig as her acting career spans nearly nine years.
Karene has made one-off appearances in Holby City as Lynsey Campbell in 2013 as well as Doctors as Amy Chander in the same year.
She then went on to play Serena in the sci-fi series The Sparticle Mystery. Karene's character appeared in a total of 23 episodes of the programme.
Meanwhile, Karene has also appeared in the movie Mindhorn, where she played Jane the Runner.
Her most recent appearances are in Unforgotten in 2017 as WPC Grant and Call the Midwife in 2021 as Pupil Midwife Georgette Baines, where she features in three episodes.
Karene's accidental rise to fame
The actress may be a rising star but soapland wasn't where Karene originally saw her life leading to.
She admitted to the Daily Star that she "fell into" acting while she took some time away from her studies at university.
Karene said: "I kind of just fell into it by accident, to be honest!
"I was on a gap year from university working in retail, the glamorous day job life, and I met someone – who’s my very good friend now – who told me to come to some acting classes.
"I was always interested in drama and things. So I went to some acting classes and there was an agency affiliated with those classes, and I got signed and fell into things from there. It’s been a long, interesting journey!"
The actress found out she had gotten the job with Emmerdale while in Sports Direct.
"I was in Sports Direct, nice and glamorous," Karene recalled. "I got the call from my agent, and I don't know why – because it wasn't off the back of an amazing audition or anything like that – but I just had a gut feeling.
"It was really quite weird. So I got the call and it confirmed that gut feeling, and here we are!"
Karene's life off screen
Aside from a keen interest in drama, Karene also has various other hobbies.
She recently said: "Outside of that I’m really into my fitness, Kevin [Mathurin] will tell you that. I sing as well.
"I feel like I’m a bit boring, I’m just a family orientated girl, so my nephews are my world. I’m pretty chilled and laid back kind of person really."
Karene's Instagram page also shows she's a keen traveller with snaps showing she's visited various sunny destinations including Greece and Mexico, where she posed outside the Chichen Itza, known to be one of the seven wonders of the world.
