Murder Most Puzzling character Dennis Pride is played by a very familiar face from soap land – the former Emmerdale star Ben Freeman.

The actor was a huge TV star – and heartthrob – in the 90s, until he stepped away from the limelight. However, over the past few years, viewers will have seen him pop up a couple of times on the small screen.

So what do we know about Ben Freeman’s character Dennis Pride in Murder Most Puzzling, what’s the actor doing now, and what else has he been in? Here’s everything you need to know…

Ben Freeman plays Dennis Pride in the cast of Murder Most Puzzling

Actor Ben Freeman stars as the rather sinister Dennis Pride in the cast of the cosy crime drama on Channel 5. Dennis is the ex-husband of Sherry, Cora’s niece. And he’s a wife-beating rock star.

Viewers of Murder Most Puzzling soon discovered that Sherry Carter was in hiding from her abusive ex. She had fled London for a “quiet life” in Bakerbury to escape her former husband. He was the lead singer in the preposterously-named Psychic Buffalo – and Sherry used to be in the band with him too!

Throughout the series, Sherry is worried Dennis will “track her down”. Which isn’t helped by Cora’s attention-seeking antics. We won’t reveal any spoilers here, but fans of the show will get to meet Dennis soon enough…

Was Ben in Emmerdale? What is he famous for?

Soaps fans will know Ben best for portraying mechanic Scott Windsor in Emmerdale. He played the role of Viv and Reg Dawson’s son between 1998 and 2007. Some of his most memorable storylines included an affair with his step-sister Kelly Windsor, as well as having a child with Zoe Tate.

In 1999, the actor performed Robbie Williams’ Millennium in musical talent show Stars in Their Eyes.

After leaving the ITV soap under a cloud – he was accused but later cleared of rape, see more below – Ben embarked on a career in musical theatre. He went on to play various roles in the West End.

Other notable TV roles include Chris Longworth in Grange Hill, which was his very first appearance on screen in 1996. He played the character for two years until 1998.

After playing the titular hero in the 2018 film Robin Hood: The Rebellion, Ben returned to soaps. In 2021, he joined EastEnders as Caleb Malone. Ben joined the BBC soap for six episodes. His character was a drug dealer who caused problems for Chelsea Fox and her dad Lucas Johnson (Don Gilet). Viewers last saw him in prison…

More recently, Ben has portrayed Corporal Jethro Woodbine in one episode of Outlander, and Athos in the film The Three Musketeers, alongside James Cosmo.

What is Murder Most Puzzling actor Ben Freeman doing now?

Having made his name on TV in his teenage years, Ben is now 45. After leaving Emmerdale in 2007, he had a 10 year hiatus from TV.

The character of Scott left the village in 2007 to stay with an old army friend down in London. But, in reality, the ITV soap initially wrote Ben out of storylines as a result of rape allegations.

Even though a jury cleared him of the charges, Ben did not return. Instead, he went on to enjoy a career in musical theatre. Most notably, he took the lead role of Brad Majors in the UK touring production of The Rocky Horror Show. He also played the Prince in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Warner in the final cast of Legally Blonde, and Norman in Dreamboats and Petticoats. The actor and singer also performed in Wicked, Happy Days, and The Rocky Horror Show.

More recently, he’s been dipping his toe back into TV, with roles in EastEnders, Outlander, and Murder Most Puzzling. Upcoming roles include Alec in the film Cloner, in which an American woman fights for her life when she finds herself caught up in an experiment gone wrong in an otherwise idyllic English countryside.

What happened to Ben Freeman from Emmerdale?

In December 2006, a 16-year-old girl accused Ben of rape after they’d met at an exclusive holiday resort in Barbados.

At the time, the Foreign Office revealed the Emmerdale actor – who was 26 at the time – had been arrested and charged by Barbadian police with the rape of a British woman.

Authorities freed him on bail. However, they confiscated his passport and told him he was not allowed to leave the island.

Crucially, two years later, Ben was eventually cleared of the alleged rape. Ben had always denied the charge, although he did admit that he and the Cheshire teenager had had consensual sex.

Emmerdale actor charged with rape

Outside the court in Bridgetown, Ben said: “I’m grateful to be vindicated by the jury’s verdict and am looking forward to spending time with my family and close friends who have been enormously supportive to me over the past two years.”

Anesta Weekes QC, defending Freeman, said the girl’s own evidence showed the sex was consensual and the girl “made the dreadful choice to lie” when her parents “had beaten her up” for it.

According to the Mail Online, the fallout from the accusation saw the actor left in financial ruin and forced to mortgage his house in Leeds “to the hilt” to pay for his £200,000 defence costs after losing his £100-a-year Emmerdale salary.

Appearing on This Morning, he later said: “I’m just finally glad it’s all over. I’m not particularly angry at the girl and the family. I don’t feel any kind of need for retribution at all.”

Who is Ben Freeman married to? Does he have a girlfriend?

Ben Freeman was famously in a relationship with Emmerdale co-star Amy Nuttall. They dated between 2005 and 2009.

The pair were on-off lovers in the ITV soap, before they fell for each other in real life, becoming Emmerdale’s “golden couple”. They dated for four years, and Amy described him as the “first real love of my life”.

Ben then married Jennifer Biddall, with whom he had a son. The couple tied the knot in 2010, after getting engaged the year before. They wed at The Manor House Hotel, Castle Combe.

Jennifer is also an actor, having played Jessica Harris in Hollyoaks and, more recently, Megan in EastEnders.

However, Ben was pictured kissing another woman a few years into his marriage. In 2013, a tabloid newspaper published intimate photos of him with his Wicked co-star Gina Beck.

Although neither have publicly confirmed the divorce, Jennifer has shared several loved up photos with her new husband – including a photo of their 2018 wedding, and pictures of their children. Meanwhile, Ben has kept tight-lipped about his relationship status, although he was pictured at Wimbledon in 2019 with Gina.

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Ben Freeman stars in Murder Most Puzzling, which starts on Channel 5 on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 8pm.