EMMERDALE legend John Middleton has joined rival soap Hollyoaks in a major new role.

The actor – who is best known for playing kindly vicar Ashley Thomas in the ITV soap – has signed up as a new series regular for the Channel 4 show.

John Middleton at the British Soap Awards.

2

Emmerdale legend John Middleton is joining Hollyoaks as a fiendish villainCredit: Getty

A man in a distressed state in a hospital hallway.

2

The actor played kindly vicar Ashley Thomas in the ITV soap for 21 yearsCredit: Andrew Boyce
And he’s world’s away from his former character.

The Sun can exclusively reveal that John will be playing a truly evil mob boss kingpin – and he’s already started filming.

A source said: “People usually think of Ashley when they see John but that won’t be happening any more, Fraser is about as far away to the kindly vicar you can get.

“He’s possibly the most evil character Hollyoaks has ever had – and for a village plagued by serial killers, that’s saying something.

“Fraser will make his entrance very soon and he’s got more than one connection to the village with his twisted family already there.”

Fraser’s connection to the village will also be revealed as his full name is Fraser Black snr – the dad of notorious villain Fraser Black.

And he’s the grandfather of villains Clare Devine, Grace Black and Rex Gallagher – but it may not be a happy reunion when they come face to face.

The source added: “Fraser’s first meeting with Clare is explosive – it’s going to be a real battle between them.”

The Channel 4 soap will celebrate its 30th anniversary this October with a huge month of celebrations as well as a trademark stunt.

Show boss Hannah Cheers told us: “You can’t do a Hollyoaks commemoration without some kind of spectacle. So there will be a stunt.”

Clare Devine returns to the village

And more than that Hannah also revealed a huge battle between two Hollyoaks titans will take centre stage for October.

Having recently returned from the dead to the village after 12 years, Clare Devine is back and she’s set to clash against serial killer Jez Blake in the run up to the big anniversary.

“Well, yes, obviously we’ve got two kind of Hollyoaks titans here,” Hannah added.

“We’ve got kind of very iconic Hollyoaks faces. And it’s not an accident that they are both in the show in the run up to the 30th anniversary.”