Emmerdale’s Joe Absolom has opened up about leaving the ITV soap.
Actor Joe, who is 47, joined the cast of the show last year as Ray Walters.
Ray was initially introduced as a drug dealer interested in the cannabis plants Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), Ross Barton (Michael Parr) and Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) were growing in a barn.
We then saw Ray luring teens Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) and April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) into dealing for him. For quite a few months, Ray would talk about his ‘boss’ and how much danger they’d be in if they failed to do what was requested. It seemed as though we’d perhaps never meet the person above Ray – but we then learnt it was someone we had already been introduced to.
Following the incident that saw April’s brother Leo consume some of the drugs she had in her bag, viewers discovered that Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths), farmer and friend to Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb), was the person in charge of Ray and the entire operation. To make matters even more shocking, we also learnt that Celia is Ray’s adoptive mother.
What followed next was a storyline that saw Ray and Celia go to dark and horrific lengths to ensure Dylan and April continued working for them. Alongside this plot, a new one began as part of Celia’s reign over the village.
We discovered that not only was Celia forcing vulnerable people to deal drugs, she was also taking advantage of homeless adults by bringing them to her farm and forcing them to work as slaves.
One of these people turned out to be Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards), who was found by Ray in the summer.
Towards the end of 2025, Celia made plans to leave the village and start her operation up in Wrexham. She had done this before, but the problem this time round was that Ray didn’t want to go.
As a result of a developing relationship with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), Ray came to realise that he too was being exploited by Celia. The character wanted a new life, but knew he couldn’t have this while Celia was alive.
He stabbed his mother in the back and felt free afterwards. In this moment, Ray felt as though he was finally going to live happily.
What he failed to realise though was that word was spreading in the village about what he had been doing with his mum. When Ray arrived outside Mulberry Cottage and was met with a heartbroken and furious Laurel, his light at the end of the tunnel suddenly looked like it was fading fast.
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At the start of the year, it was confirmed that Ray had been killed by a member of the village. A week later, DS Walsh found his body in the back of a depot truck and this week, we’ve been seeing what a number of residents were up to in the lead up to his death.
Now he’s filmed his final scenes, Joe has opened up about what it was like working at the soap. He admitted that while he believes the audience is satisfied with the way Ray’s story has ended, he has wondered about what could’ve happened to his character if he wasn’t killed off.
‘I’ve started to think, “why did I say kill me off?”. That said, Ray had to get his comeuppance. I think the audience is happy. He couldn’t stay in the soap. There has to be moving on but as an actor. I have loved it and I could easily stay forever’.
With Joe no longer a part of the cast, it means he’s now looking for his next acting role. It’s the life stars in the industry lead – playing a character, leaving them behind, and then finding the next one.
Reflecting on this and the reality of being an actor, Joe added to the Mirror: ‘It’s been very good and I’ve definitely got the blues. It’s a compliment to Emmerdale. It’s been such a nice, positive place to work and I am going to miss it. When you are a jobbing actor, the reality of that fear of finding a new role also steps in. It can be terrifying wondering what is next.’
‘But, as I have got older, I feel like I have got a bit of karma and I know I will be alright.’
Tonight’s episode of the ITV soap brought us a tiny bit closer to finding out who takes Ray’s life. Focus this evening was on Paddy, Ross and Marlon, adding them to the suspect list which already includes Rhona, Graham, Laurel and Arthur.
Will it be one of these who kills Ray?
Or someone else entirely?
