Irish actor Aidan O'Callaghan has been cast in Emmerdale.

The Cork man will play Irish character Mike, and will appear from late February to 'cause drama'. Aidan attended Trinity College Dublin and also Cork's Academy of Dramatic Art. He went on to complete further screen training at Met Film School London. He had recently finished touring Europe with the play Nuclear Family, by Dublin writers Eva O’Connor and Hildegard Ryan, when his agent secured him an audition for the role. When he first heard about the opportunity, he worried about pulling off the accent but then came the best news - it was a Cork character. He told us, "The first thought I had was, 'how much time do I have to master the Yorkshire accent?', but thankfully my character is a Cork man through and through - which was very exciting for the filming. Super excited about the small influential role." Aidan's mum reacted like most Irish Mammies would, but ended up showing a bit too much emotion in the middle of M&S, "When I told my Mum I got a part in Emmerdale storyline all I heard was a SMASH as she had dropped her coffee mug in Marks and Spencer’s with excitement." He wouldn't divulge any further information about the role, but said, "A lot of people, friends and Emmerdale fans have been asking about my storyline but am sworn to privacy. All I can say is that my character is called Mike and he enjoys hiking at the Dales. But, it is a nice little role with the leading actors and actresses - causing a bit of drama - appearing at the end of February." He added, "The director Duncan Foster, crew and cast were super welcoming for the filming as the guest for the storyline. Some of them have been with Emmerdale literally for years so it was slightly intimidating for the first hour as they were like an actual family, but they made me part of their family right away." We cannot wait for him to join the show.