ITV/BBC Share Add as preferred source on Google Add as preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 13 Mar 2026, 16:03 By Carena Crawford 13 Mar 2026, 16:03 Who plays DS Walsh? Meet Amanda Ryan the detective everyone dislikes The most hated detective in the Dales has had a huge career in real life Celia Daniels DS Walsh Nate's Death Ray Walters Share Add as preferred source on Google Add as preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 13 Mar 2026, 16:03 By Carena Crawford 13 Mar 2026, 16:03 Emmerdale detective DS Walsh is back investigating crime in the Dales as she pursues Bear, Paddy and Dylan as well as having it in for Moira. Walsh has become just about the most hated detective in Soapland as she fails to properly investigate and ignores the facts. In real life, She is played by Amanda Ryan who has been in just about everything! From Coronation Street to EastEnders and even a Hollywood film, Amanda is no stranger to our screens. Here’s all we know about her. DS Walsh is back (Credit: ITV) Who plays the detective investigating Bear and Moira in Emmerdale? DS Walsh is leading the investigation into the drugs ring, human trafficking operation and the murder of Ray Walters. She was previously in the Dales last year investigating Nate Robinson’s death. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers DS Walsh is played by Amanda Ryan. Born in London in October 1971, 54-year-old Amanda trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She has starred in TV shows, movies and also on the stage. DS Walsh was previously investigating Nate Robinson’s death (Credit: ITV) DS Walsh investigates in Emmerdale The first time we met DS Walsh was when she investigated the body in the lake, which turned out to be Nate Robinson. Ruby Miligan was horrified and convinced the corpse must have been her father, Anthony.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. Desperate to protect her family and tell her side of the story first, she hot-footed it to the police station and confessed to her crime. But Joe Tate was able to save the day, pay a contact abroad to pretend to be Anthony and clear Ruby’s name. And then the body was identified as Nate Robinson. Walsh then made her presence felt in the village as she tried to piece together what had happened to Nate. She shook his killer John Sugden up at the funeral, but it was only later that he was finally found out. DS Walsh has been grilling Bear (Credit: ITV) Emmerdale detective investigating Ray and Celia Now DS Walsh is back in Emmerdale, this time investigating Ray and Celia and events surrounding their dealings and deaths. They had been running a drugs ring, human trafficking and exploiting people young and old – including April Windsor and Bear Wolf. She has also targeted Moira Dingle after finding evidence that she was involved with the modern slavery storyline. Moira has been charged with all of Celia and Ray’s crimes plus double murder as they think she killed Celia. Walsh has been adamant Moira was guilty and refused to listen to her pleas she had been set up. Walsh also didn’t conduct a proper investigation, with fans spotting multiple plot holes in the case against Moira. Now, she is dead set on proving Bear Wolf killed Ray in cold blood and Paddy helped him cover it up. She’s ignoring Bear’s mental health is questioning him relentlessly and bombarding him with her own theories of wha happened. It’s little wonder she’s become the most hated detective in the Dales. Probably even in Soapland! And she’s not done yet. Paddy was taken in for questioning by DS Walsh (Credit: ITV) Amanda Ryan and her film past So who is actress Amanda Ryan then? Amanda has been in plenty of films and TV shows since her arrival on the acting scene. Her most notable role came in 1998 Oscar winning film Elizabeth. The movie starred Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I. Amanda played Lettice Howard, the fictional lover of the Duke of Norfolk. She has also appeared in film Metroland as well as Red Mercury and 2015’s Anti-social. Amanda Ryan as abused Mel Sinclair in Casualty (Credit: BBC) The Emmerdale detective is no stranger to Soapland! As for TV appearances, Amanda is no stranger to soap! She was in EastEnders in 2007 as Mad May’s sister, Verity. She also had a role in Coronation Street as a doctor in 2015 who gave Gail’s husband Michael bad news about his health. In Channel 4 series Shameless, Amanda played police officer Carrie Rogers. Carrie was an aggressive cop not afraid to use brute force to get answers, or seduce anyone who might get her into trouble. She was revealed as a crooked cop later in the series’ and eventually left in season six after getting a promotion. She was also in the 2002 adapation of The Forsythe Saga playing Holly. Other credits include Doctors, This is Going to Hurt, The Marlowe Sessions, Midsommer Murders and Lewis. Most recently, Amanda starred in six episodes of Casualty as Mel Sinclair. Forming part of the huge exit for Charlie Fairhead in the boxset A History of Violence in 2024, Mel was the abused wife of police officer Harry Sinclair. Charlie was eventually the one who helped save her life after she went missing following a car accident with her husband. 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 13 Mar 2026, 16:03 By Carena Crawford 13 Mar 2026, 16:03 Previous Story Next Story
