Shutterstock Share Add as preferred source on Google Add as preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Rebecca Sayers 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Carena Crawford 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Rebecca Sayers 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 Inside Joshua Richards' life away from Bear Wolf: From weight loss to Emmerdale star wife Joshua has had an exciting life Bear Wolf Emmerdale Cast Share Add as preferred source on Google Add as preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Rebecca Sayers 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Carena Crawford 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Rebecca Sayers 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 Emmerdale star Joshua Richards has had a packed life away from Bear Wolf, including acting alongside a huge Hollywood star, huge weight loss and a wife that has also appeared in Emmerdale. Bear first appeared on our screens way back in 2019, and was introduced as a wrestler – and Paddy’s dad. He is currently facing life in prison for murdering Ray Walters after he was groomed and held as a slave by Ray. Bear is accused of murder (Credit: ITV) Who plays Bear Wolf in Emmerdale? Bear Wolf is played by Joshua Richards and he is no stranger to the screen. While Emmerdale is Joshua’s first soap role, he has starred in some other TV shows. Joshua appeared in Downton Abbey, Heartbeat and Panic Button. Away from the screen, he has also had roles in theatre, as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers But away from acting, the 65-year-old has also been married to his wife, Sarah, for more than 30 years. Joshua and Sarah (pictured in 2011) have been together for years (Credit: Can Nguyen/Shutterstock) Joshua Richards’ wife Sarah Parks in Emmerdale Wife Sarah is no stranger to soaps as she has appeared in both Emmerdale and Coronation Street before. Speaking to the Mirror recently Joshua said: “She has played a judge in Emmerdale before.” He added he thought she would get a long-term soap role rather than him. “In the end, I ended up being on Emmerdale and she is the one who supports me,” he revealed.Don't miss a single story! Add us as a Preferred Source in Google for all your Emmerdale newsIt's important to us that you never miss our articles when searching for stories! We have all the latest TV news & schedules to share with our community of loyal readers. Click here and tick TVGuide.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search. In fact, Sarah has appeared in Emmerdale more than once, but most notable as the judge in Jack Sugden’s trial when he was in court for starting the fire that killed his wife Sarah Sugden. Sarah has also been in Coronation Street several times as DC Pullen, who investigated the false imprisonment of Sarah Platt. She also played the wife of a man Liz McDonald had an affair with. As well as being his number one supporter, Joshua credits his wife with helping him lose weight too. In 2019 Joshua was much larger (Credit: David Fisher/ITV/Shutterstock) Dramatic weight loss for Emmerdale star Joshua Richards In the past two years, Joshua has shed four stone in weight and also reversed his Type 2 diabetes, going from 17 and a half stone to 13 and a half stone. Speaking about his weight loss, he revealed it was down to diet and lifestyle changes. He said: “My health wasn’t too good. And I was tucking into all the wrong meals from Emmerdale catering like lasagne and chips! We read a book by Dr Meghan Rossi called Eat More Live Well – and that really helped me lose the weight.” Joshua followed the book, and admitted he “doesn’t exercise” because he has a bad back, but shows that he is “living proof” it can be done. As for how his Emmerdale cast mates reacted to seeing his weight loss, he admitted they were surprised. Joshua said: “I remember coming back to Emmerdale because I was off for a bit, and when people haven’t seen you for a while, they really notice. They said, ‘Oh you’ve lost weight, how have you done that?’. I said, ‘Well, I’ve kept away from you. That must help!'” Huge Hollywood role In 2004, Joshua starred in the Hollywood move Troy. And it wasn’t just any Hollywood movie, but it was one alongside Brad Pitt. When speaking about his time working with Brad, Joshua explained to The Mirror: “Off-screen Brad was chilled, laidback and charming.” But that wasn’t it. His other co-stars were Sean Bean, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and Peter O’Toole. And they spent a lot of time partying. Joshua said: “Peter held a big bash at his apartment in Mexico and I turned up with Brad, Eric and Orlando. It was great!” Bear is in court for his role in Ray’s murder (Credit: ITV) Emotional connection to Emmerdale One year before Joshua got his role in Emmerdale, his mum, Jean, sadly passed away at the age of 80. And it turns out she was a huge soap fan. So, while Joshua was thrilled to be joining the ITV soap, he was sad that his mum couldn’t see him on the screen. He told The Mirror: “My mum Jean was an ardent fan. We watched it when it was Emmerdale Farm and she would have been over the moon that I was doing it. But we lost her last year. It’s really sad that she couldn’t be around to watch me in it. “She didn’t know I got the part. I just thought ‘If only my mum was here to see this’.” Timeline of Bear Wolf's breakdown We know Bear has had some sort of breakdown in Emmerdale, but what could it be related to? Here's everything that has happened to him in the last year... May 2025: Laura Shaw annouces big Bear storyline in Emmerdale Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw teases future storylines, one involving Bear. "He's going off screen for a little while," she said. "He'll go missing and when he comes back what you'll see is a very different Bear in a very different situation." Laura added: "We're all going to be watching going: 'what the hell has happened here?'" Later that month, Bear's strange behaviour began. June 2025: Bear's behaviour worsens Bear begins acting very strangely. He thinks Paddy and Mandy are trying to get rid of him and want him out. Paddy buys him an old motorcycle to do up in a bid to cheer him up. However the stress of getting the vehicle to work causes Bear to violently lash out at Kammy. Bear then went missing for the first time. Paddy suspected his dad had dementia and tried to test him in secret. But Bear realised what they were doing and stormed out. June 30 2025: Bear hits out at Paddy in Emmerdale Paddy is attacked by Celia Daniels' dog and Bear rescues him. Paddy is rushed in for emergency surgery and is grateful for Bear’s help. But suddenly Bear erupts and uses the attack as an opportunity to say some horrible thing about his son leaving Mandy appalled. July 1 2025: Exit Paddy confronted Celia over the dog attack, but she intimidated him and made him feel even worse. He blamed Bear and after another huge row, Paddy threw Bear out. Bear called his friend Gnasher for a place to stay, but Gnasher said no. However Bear lied to Mandy and Paddy that he was going to Gnasher's and left the village. Later that month was the last time we saw Bear - living in his car, not far from Emmerdale. November 2025: Paddy realises Bear is missing in Emmerdale It took four months for Paddy to realise Bear never went to Gnashers. He had no idea where he was, but the police were unable to help. In a special standalone episode we saw Bear had been taken in by Ray Walters and was living as a slave on his farm. Bear was being drugged to keep in line and had come to depend on Ray and believe they were friends. January 2026 - Bear finally freed In a bid to hurt Ray and keep him in line, cruel Celia told Ray Bear was dead. We saw Bear's feet as Ray sobbed over his body. However after Ray killed Celia, a week of flashbacks to Ray's own death saw Bear was no actually dead. In fact he reappeared just as Ray was about to kill Paddy. Bear grabbed Ray and shouted he just wanted it to stop before strangling him to death. Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns Share Add as preferred source on Google Add as preferred source on Google Good to Know Share Add as preferred source on Google Add as preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Rebecca Sayers 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Carena Crawford 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 By Rebecca Sayers 30 Apr 2026, 17:04 Previous Story Next Story
