Emmerdale’s Bear Wolf has been a staple on the ITV soap since 2019 and he’s currently part of a huge storyline

Emmerdale fans have been left heartbroken for Bear Wolf recently after a very challenging storyline.

Bear first made his debut as Paddy Kirk’s estranged father in 2019 and has been a mainstay ever since.

However, only recently, Bear was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of evil Celia Daniels and Ray Walters on their farm, where he was forced to do unthinkable things such as bury fellow ‘slave’ Anya Berisha.

Back in January, as part of a flashback whodunnit, it was revealed that Bear had escaped from the farm and killed Ray, who had just killed his mother Celia, in a bid to protect son Paddy, who Ray was going to kill.

Bear was later arrested and he has been released on bail since, where he has been struggling with his guilt and turning to alcohol to cope.

After trying to obtain painkillers from GP Manpreet Sharma, he angrily punched a mirror and injured himself, where he headed to hospital.

Once there, he begged trainee doctor Jacob Gallagher to prescribe him painkillers, but he reminded him that as a student doctor, he would not be able to.

However, due to not getting painkillers, Bear, who is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), grabbed the young medic and held him in the same pose he used to kill Ray. After Jacob knocked a hospital trolley, Bear came to his sense and fled the scene as police descended.

It was then revealed that when Bear was found, he would be rearrested. After finding his dad, Paddy suggested he go to a mental health hospital, where he has been admitted. However, DS Walsh has insisted that as soon as Bear is well enough, the investigation will continue…

With Bear being the main focus on Emmerdale recently, soap watchers have been left intrigued about the actor behind the character and how old Bear actually is. Here, we take a look at those questions…

Who plays Bear in Emmerdale?

Bear is portrayed by actor Joshua Richards, who has been on Emmerdale since 2019.

Actor Joshua is known for his work on the Brad Pitt film Troy in 2004, Playing Burton in 2011, and King Arthur: Excalibur Rising in 2017. He has also appeared in Screen Two, The New Adventures of Robin Hood, Heartbeat and Downton Abbey – to name a few.

Joshua has also taken part in lots of theatre and Shakespeare productions, which include Royal Shakespeare Company: Richard II, Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part I, Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part II and RSC Live: Henry V.

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How old is Bear in Emmerdale?

Bear’s birthday is listed as 2nd December 1952, making him around 74.

In his earlier days, Bear was a wrestler and he had an affair with Paddy’s mother, Barbara, resulting in Paddy being born. However, Paddy believed that Barbara’s husband was his father until realising his biological dad was in fact Bear.

What is Bear’s real name?

Although soap fans know the character as Bear, his real name is in fact Edward Howelson.