John Middleton (actor)


John Middleton is an English actor well known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as Ashley Thomas, a role which he remained in from 1996 to 2017 and with a brief return in 2018 for two episodes.

Career

He has appeared in many other TV programmes, most notably in 1993 as John Hargreaves in Coronation Street, the man who knocked down and killed Lisa Duckworth. A year later he appeared again in Coronation Street, this time as a hospital consultant, when Deirdre Barlow's former husband Samir Rachid was beaten up and killed by a gang of thugs.
His first Emmerdale role was that of PC John Jarvis at the time of the Post Office raid in 1994, before landing the role of Vicar Ashley Thomas in December 1996. In October 2015, when a new storyline was revealed on-screen for Ashley, it was also announced Middleton would be leaving his role as Ashley after 20 years. Middleton's contract ended in March 2017 and Ashley departed on 7 April 2017.
ITV have released a promo for a set of episode from 3 April 2017 through to 7 April 2017 titled "It's Time To Say Goodbye". It features many pictures of Ashley and his Family and Friends. Ashley slowly starts fading away from the photos.
Before appearing in both Coronation Street and Emmerdale, Middleton was seen in an early 90s UK TV advertisement for Swinton Insurance.
He was the subject of a This is Your Life programme in 2003, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel on the set of Emmerdale.

Personal life

He is married to his childhood sweetheart Christine and they have two sons, George and Jack. He plays cricket for the Emmerdale team and also the celebrity team, the Bunburys.
He is also a longtime supporter and has been a member of the Labour Party since 1982.
He is a supporter of Newcastle United Football Club.