How Joe and Caleb are related in Emmerdale - and where Noah fits in
Is it actually worth Joe nicking Caleb's kidney?Joe Tate has stolen Caleb Miligan’s kidney in Emmerdale because he needed a living donor and Caleb was the only blood relative he had after Noah Dingle proved not to be a match.
But given Joe and Caleb have barely crossed paths since Joe’s been back in the village and Noah doesn’t seem to have much to do with Caleb either, we were a little confused about how they fit together. So we thought we’d take a look at the twisty-turny Tate family tree and work it all out, so you don’t have to!
How is Caleb a Tate?
Caleb’s dad was Frank Tate. He was Kim’s husband. He’d been married before he met Kim, to a woman called Jean. They had two children – Chris and Zoe.
What no one knew back then was that Chris also had two other children. A son called Liam Hammond, who was born a couple of years before Chris, and Caleb Miligan, who was about eight years younger than Zoe.
Chris and Zoe grew up with their dad, while Liam and Caleb grew up elsewhere and unaware that they were part of the Tate dynasty.
In 1996, Kim gave birth to Frank’s fifth child, Jamie Tate.
Joe came along in Emmerdale
Just before Jamie was born, Chris’s first wife Rachel gave birth to his son, who they named Joseph. And later – in 2004 – after Chris had died, Charity had Noah, who never met his dad.
There are other relatives around too. Zoe’s daughter Jean was born in 2003 and as far as we know, still lives in New Zealand, where Joe grew up with Zoe as his guardian.
Jamie – who’s also Joe’s half-uncle – is around somewhere and so are his children, Millie and Thomas (who lives at Home Farm with his mum Gabby).
How are Caleb and Joe blood related in Emmerdale and where does Noah fit in?
By our reckoning that makes Joe and Noah half-brothers – they shared a dad in Chris.
And it makes Caleb – who was Chris’s half brother – Joe’s half-uncle.
We’re no doctors but we’re thinking the chances of any of these distantly related Tates being a match for Joe are small. But there was no one else for him to ask. His mum Rachel was murdered by her second husband Graham Clark. And her brother, Mark, was killed in the Beckindale air disaster in 1993.
So Caleb, Noah and Joe are all related in Emmerdale – but will the truth come out?
Caleb is edging ever closer to discovering what happened to his kidney really. He thinks he was stabbed and Joe saved his life, but he had to lose a kidney. He hasn’t yet pieced the puzzle together to uncover that Joe was responsible for it all!
But now Joe is back in town he is taking an extreme interest in Caleb’s affair, especially after Steph blurted out that they weren’t related. Some fans think it is Joe’s insurance policy so he can blackmail Caleb into keeping quiet should he find out about the organ harvesting.
Caleb is suspicious over Joe’s interest and invites him for lunch. Joe brings Noah as a distraction so Joe can do some digging. But then Joe leaves his coat with his pills in the pocket behind. When he collects the coat, the medication falls out and Steph and Caleb are suspicious.
Caleb later gets Noah alone and asks questions about Joe. Noah reveals he had visions of Joe when he was spiked. The cogs starts to whir and Caleb makes a realisation. Will he catch Joe out?
Bookish series 2 guest cast in full as Sherlock stars reunite and Blackadder legend plays thief
The Sherlock actor returns as gay antique book seller Gabriel Book in U&alibi's stylish period drama. Set in London in 1946, Book helps the police solve strange crimes by finding answers in the works that fill his bookshop.
Book is in a lavender marriage with his childhood best friend Trottie (Polly Walker), who helps him crack cases. But being gay at a time when homosexuality is illegal in Britain means Book remains wary of the police. And series 2 sees Book threatened by a devilish enemy.
The six-part new series sees Book investigates the world of spiritualism when he’s asked to help solve a mysterious case involving medium. Meanwhile, Inspector Bliss asks Book to help him solve the murder of an elderly tailor. Plus, Book and Jack Blunt (Connor Finch) head to a seemingly charming German village to thwart a thieving Duchess.
So, here's all the guest stars you can look forward to and where you've seen them before...
Bookish series 2 guest cast
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Duchess Alberta isn't all she seems (Credit: UKTV)[/caption]
Miranda Richardson as Duchess Alberta
Miranda plays a Duchess with a big secret: she's a thief! On the surface, the Duchess is a respectable member of the aristocracy but in reality she's a common criminal. She crosses swords with Book and Jack in the beautiful German village of Würl where she operates. Can they catch her out? Plus, the case takes a fresh twist when the pair find themselves in an ominous castle brimming with plausible murder suspects.
Blackadder fans will always love Miranda Richardson for her hilarious performance as Queenie, aka Queen Elizabeth I, in its second series. If anyone, including Rowan Atkinson's Edmund Blackadder, argued with her, she'd reply with the immortal line: "Who's Queen?".
Miranda's other break out role was playing Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, in the 1985 film Dance with a Stranger. Plus, she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her part in the psychological thriller Damage (1992). She also popped up in two Harry Potter films as dreadful reporter Rita Skeeter, who loved tormenting Harry. While she played Lady Van Tassel in Tim Burton's 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow.
On television, she starred as Mapp in the BBC's 2014 adaptation of Mapp and Lucia. Interestingly, the show also featured a certain Mark Gatiss! Her long list of TV credits includes The Lost Prince, Girlfriends, Curfew and Good Omens. Miranda is certainly an amazing addition to the Bookish series 2 guest cast.
Ruth Codd joins as India Flynn
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India Flynn makes sure she never misses a shot (Credit: UKTV)[/caption]
The Celebrity Traitors star plays India Flynn. The makers so far haven't revealed anything about India. However, the picture they've released rather suggests she's a photographer!
So, it could be that she's a reporter or a crime scene photographer. All will become clear when the series begins.
Ruth, who had her left leg amputated aged 23, made a big impact on Celebrity Traitors. She blamed her "big fat mouth" for her murder on the show. Ruth became convinced, rightly as it turned out, that Jonathan Ross was a traitor. But she expressed her view a little too forcibly which meant she was an easy target.
Ruth found fame in the Netflix thriller The Midnight Club playing Anya. She also played Juno Usher in the horror series The Fall of the House of Usher. Plus, Ruth took third place on the Channel 4 cooking series, Celeb Cooking School, in 2024. On the big screen, she played the part of Phlegma the Fierce in the 2025 film How to Train Your Dragon.
Bookish series 2 guest cast: Rupert Graves as Colonel Reggie Winters
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Colonel Winters is a threat to Book (Credit: UKTV)[/caption]
Rupert Graves plays the debonair Colonel Winters. Winters is a massive threat to Book, who could expose the fact he's gay. It's unclear what's motivating Winters.
Rupert Graves joining means a Sherlock reunion as he starred alongside Mark Gatiss in the acclaimed crime drama series. He played Inspector Lestrade, who was always one step behind Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock. Mark Gatiss was famously Sherlock's elder brother, Mycroft.
Rupert has enjoyed a string of movie roles, including in 1985's A Room with a View and 1994's The Madness of King George.
Meanwhile, his TV acting career began in the 1970s as a teenager, including a part in an adaptation of The Famous Five. And Rupert has been working ever since! Among his huge list of TV credits are The Forsyte Saga, Scott & Bailey and Last Tango in Halifax.
Claire Skinner plays Mrs Calthrop
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Why does Mrs Calthrop want to see Book? (Credit: UKTV)[/caption]
The Outnumbered star has joined the Bookish series 2 guest cast as Mrs Calthrop. There's no official information on the character yet, but she's pictured above heading into Book's shop. She looks like a respectable lady, but as we know, not everyone is as they seem in Bookish.
Claire is best know for playing frazzled mum Sue opposite Hugh Dennis as her husband Pete in hit sitcom Outnumbered. Off screen Claire and Hugh have become a couple in real life.
One of her earliest roles was as Lucinda in Lenny Henry's comedy Chef. Her other TV credits include Life Begins, Next of a Kin and, most recently, Riot Women.
Plus, she had a small role as Bridget's "only grown-up friend" Magda in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001).
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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