Emmerdale fans were left open-mouthed when they realised why they recognised new character Dr Caitlin Todd.

The health professional appeared in the ITV soap as part of the hour-long A&E special at the beginning of 2025.

The instalment saw medical student Jacob Gallagher’s (played by Joe-Warren Plant) first day of work placement at Hotten General Hospital.

One scene in particular saw Dr Todd have a go at Jacob after making a huge mistake, which led him to question if he really wanted to be a doctor.

Later on in the episode the pair had a heart to heart.

While the doctor was on their screens, some fans were distracted, trying to identify the actress playing her.

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Emmerdale fans couldn’t believe it when they figured out who Dr Caitlin Todd was after her appearance on the soap last week

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Actress Caroline Harker pictured at The Railway Children at Kings Cross Station in 2015

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One fan pointed out that she has played Ms Taylor Brown in Joan

One fan took to Reddit to figure it out, with Caroline Harker, 58, quickly revealed.

They asked on the discussion forum website: ‘Who played the white-haired Dr Todd in tonight’s episode?’

And one replied: ‘Recently she was in Joan – she was the posh lady they stole the painting from.’

Caroline’s alter-ego in Joan, Ms Taylor Brown, had a painting stolen off her by Joan (Sophie Turner).

Caroline shot to fame in the 90s and has appeared in various popular TV shows over the years.

She played Claire Jarrett in Doctors, Imogen White in Holby City and Alicia Davenport in Corrie.

Caroline has also been in Ten Percent, Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s War and Toast of Tinseltown.

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The doctor and Jacob Gallagher starred in the A&E special at the start of January

Others may remember her as W.P.C. Hazel Wallace in A Touch of Frost.

The actress played her between 1992 and 2003.

Caroline has also appeared in a number of films.

These include Mothering Sunday, The Croft and The Madness of King George.

It comes after Jacob actor Joe recently opened up about the special episode.

He told Metro: ‘He’s been dreaming of this day for a long time.

‘So I think that is his main emotion.

‘I think it’s only later on in the day when the apprehensions start to show and he does start to feel a little overwhelmed. But at this point he is ready for it.

‘This placement is a big deal and knowing how much time and effort he’s put into getting to this point there are a lot of emotions that he’s facing.

‘But it is what he is aspiring to do so I think leading up to his first day there are a couple of moments you get the fact that the pressure is getting to him a little bit.’

He added: ‘When I first went up to the meeting with the producer Sophie she told me there was coming up dedicated to Jacob’s first day of placement on A&E, I remember being hit with all these emotions.

‘Knowing how many people have this high pressure job and I felt the pressure to really knuckle down with it and get it right.

‘Tackling this storyline scared me a bit at first but to know but they trusted me to tell it it means a lot and I do feel very honoured.’

Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.