He's best known for playing straight-faced schemer and love-rat Al Chapman in Emmerdale but Michael Wildman's career stretched way beyond the ITV soap. The actor made his debut in the Dales in 2019 as the ex-husband of Jessie Dingle.
Al masks himself as investor, interested in Ellis and Billy's personal training company. While he was genuinely interested in the company, Al was also trying to see his son, leaving Ellis shocked to find out who he is.
In the few short years he has been on-screen Emmerdale fans have seen Al make enemies of quite a few of the village's residents, including his own son, but none more so than Cain Dingle. The pair have been at loggerheads for months.
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It all really kicked off when the businessman caused trouble for Cain's sister Chas over The Woolpack and Cain has recently been triggered again as little sister Belle has joined forces with his enemy on a new business project - despite Al trying to steal her idea at first.
But in more recent episodes viewers have seen Cain lashing out at his mum, Faith Dingle, while also being wound up by Al thanks to her public antics. And this week, in a series of special flash-forward episodes, the war between Cain, played by Jeff Hordley, and adversary Al Chapman seems to show no signs of abating with some even predicting the soap's next death after some 'foreshadowing' in scenes aired last month.
Prior to joining Emmerdale, Michael had enjoyed a varied acting career. He appeared alongside Samuel L. Jackson in Ricky Gervais' sitcom Extras. Fans may also have seen him in a whole host of popular TV shows including Miranda, Peep Show, Casualty, Primeval, Holby City, Plebs and Death in Paradise.
And the actor has also appeared in Hollywood films, having had roles in The Bourne Ultimatum, London has Fallen, Ready Player One and the Fast & Furious spin-off movie Hobbs & Shaw. He also has Harry Potter credits to his name having played the role of aggressive, feisty centaur Magorian in Order of the Phoenix.
Most recently, before landing the part in Emmerdale, he appeared in the BBC crime series Rellik, playing DI Martin Brook and starred as DI Michael McCoy in last year's series of ITV drama Liar. But it's not just the big and small screen as Michael also played Lance Corporal Dawson in A Few Good Men alongside Rob Lowe in the West End.
Despite all his past work, Michael has previously revealed that it is Emmerdale which is the most demanding. "You go in and you work 12-13-hour shifts and it is relentless," Michael previously said on Loose Women. "I always say to people on this job, every script I’ve had over the last two decades I get every week and a half. It’s like having a new job every week which is great because I never know what’s coming. It’s one of the hardest jobs you’ll do in the game."
But it's not just all about work as Michael has a lovely family off-screen. The soap star is married to Welsh singer and actress Ceri Ann Gregory. She is well known for being a part of Elysium, a band that meshes rock and classical music together. She sings alongside Amelia Whiteman and Annalise Wittlesea.
Ceri Ann has also starred in some very well-known programmes including hit comedy Little Britain and sci-fi series Torchwood.
The couple, who tied the knot also share son Lucas Rhys together. In an appearance on Loose Women in 2020, Michael opened up about the difficulty his son had with him heading off the work on the popular ITV soap. "My son had a little bit of anxiety issues when I first started the job," he told the show's panel.
"When they come into consciousness, around four or five, I could leave and do two weeks away. Shoot stuff and come back, ‘Daddy’s back!’ But now he’s asking: ‘How many sleeps?’ it's hard." He added: "The first month on the job he was crying when I left and I hadn’t experienced that before. My wife is also in the game. She’s a singer and an actress. When she has to go away she experienced the same thing, so I get used to that on this particular job."
