Emmerdale is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared during 2023, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producer, Jane Hudson. January saw the introduction of Marshall Hamston (Max Fletcher), a classmate of Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke). Gus Malcolm (Alan McKenna) debuted in April as the ex-husband of Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry). In June, Flo Wilson joined as Claudette, the mother of Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin). She was soon followed by Victor (Eddie Osei), her husband and Charles' father. Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana then joined in July as Suni, Jai Sharma's (Chris Bisson) cousin. Corey Sanderson (Kyle Row) debuted in August as an old friend of Nate Robinson's (Jurell Carter). He is followed by his boss, Harry (Robert Beck). Later that month, Ben Addis joined as Craig Reed, a man that grew up with Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) in a children's home. Additionally, multiple other characters appeared throughout the year.
Marshall Hamston
Marshall Hamston, played by Max Fletcher, first appeared on 5 January 2023. He was introduced as a classmate of Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke), who has a crush on Marshall. In a "cruel bet" arranged by Marshall's friends, he pretends to like Arthur back, but when Arthur learns the truth, he is left devastated. Arthur's friend, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), punches Marshall in the face and Arthur's mother, Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), tries to stop them from contacting each other again. Weeks later, Marshall confesses to Arthur that he does like him romantically, but as the pair lean in for a kiss, they are interrupted by a phonecall from Marshall's father and he runs away. This formed the start of a "hard-hitting storyline" that sees Marshall's father, Colin Hamston (Mark Noble) become abusive as a result of his homophobic views. After Colin tries to force Marshall to go to boarding school and isolates him from everybody, Laurel forces her way into their home and takes Marshall to live with her.
Leeds Live wrote that viewers had "taken to" Marshall and were rooting for him and Arthur to become a couple. Eventually, they become a couple. On 11 July 2023, it was announced that Marshall would be leaving the serial at the end of his storyline with Arthur, making his final appearance on 20 July 2023. The exit was described as "sudden" by Radio Times. His departure was criticised by the Metro, with journalist Stephen Patterson finding it disappointing that Emmerdale were showing an inability to keep their LGBTQ+ couples together. Patterson noted how Marshall had become a "fan favourite" in his time on the soap and opined that he had been involved in one of Emmerdales best storylines during his tenure.
Faye Helders
Faye Helders, played by Jane Gurnett, first appeared on 29 January 2023 as a love interest for Mary Goskirk, whom she initially goes on a date with and the pair agree to see each other again. However, as time goes by, it transpires that Faye is trying to scam Mary and other villagers by setting up fundraisers for a charity she has made up. When Mary finds this out, Faye attacks her and leaves her unconscious, to later be found by ex-son-in-law Gus Malcolm.
Digital Spy announced on 4 July that Faye would be returning to the soap. She appears to be homeless, but this also turns out not to be true. She then blackmails Mary with a nude photo of her, but manages to get Mary arrested. However Faye sends the photo to all of Mary's contacts.
Gus Malcolm
Gus Malcom, played by Alan McKenna, made his first appearance on 5 April 2023. He was introduced as the ex-husband of Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry). The pair were married off-screen in the 2000s, in the time between Henry's two stints on the soap. It was said that Gus' arrival will "tug at the heartstrings" for Rhona when he unexpectedly interrupts a date between her and husband Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock). Gus catches up with Rhona the next day, with the request to use one of their frozen embryos for his new wife they still have stored, which Rhona thought had been destroyed. She is shocked to learn that the embryos still exist and later becomes horrified when she learns that Gus has contacted the clinic pretending to already have her consent.