Journalist Sanjeeta Bains went behind the scenes at Emmerdale and discovered the horrifying truth of what happens to Bear played by Joshua Richards
07:00, 10 Nov 2025
Emmerdale has never shied away from tough topics, but its latest storyline is perhaps its most disturbing to date.
I was invited to see filming for a special episode airing tonight (Monday Nov 10) delving into the reality of modern-day slavery.
Just eight miles from Leeds city centre, at the purpose-built Emmerdale village, I’m standing in a grotty farmhouse attic, witnessing the horrifying truth of what happened to Bear – played by Joshua Richards – since he supposedly left the community four months ago. But Paddy discovers Bear never made it to Ireland and is now missing.
At the end of Friday’s episode viewers caught a glimpse of a dirty and dishevelled Bear closer to home than Paddy could ever have imagined.
READ MORE: Human trafficking survivor forced to run drugs farm facing deportationDaily Mirror journalist Sanjeeta Bains was invited to see filming for Emmerdale’s 100 Days of Bear episode
In a chilling final scene, fans saw villainous newcomer Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) drag a distraught young woman up to the attic of his boss Celia Daniels’ farmhouse, Holdgate Farm – previously used as the Sharma family home. But it is now the setting for a slavery ring organised by Ray and masterminded by Celia. (Jaye Griffiths).
As I enter the attic, I’m introduced to Joe. “Welcome!” he says, gesturing to the squalid space. It is filled with TV crew, led by director Tim O’Mara, as well as Josh, who is Ray’s newly revealed victim. Soon the camera starts rolling… Ray is in Josh’s face, chastising and jabbing his finger at him, while he is quietly howling in pain, nursing a bloody injury to his arm caused while working on Celia’s farm. I’m stunned, watching this appalling new level of abuse from Ray and wonder how the actors are coping filming such heavy scenes.
A special standalone episode delves into Bear Wolf’s [Joshua Richards] life since leaving the village,
Afterwards I speak to Josh, 66, who says: “It is harrowing. Everyone’s worked so hard to make this story believable, because it is happening in real life. I’m proud of Emmerdale for taking this subject on – it’s very brave.” Josh appeared in the 2007 play Sold, about human trafficking, which he says opened his eyes to the crime’s prevalence. “Modern slavery is even bigger than slavery before abolition over 200 years ago,” he says. “It’s become a huge business – the exploitation of people’s labour. One of the most valuable things anybody’s got to offer is their labour. If you can eradicate that cost, criminal gangs can make a fortune.”
According to Home Office data, at the end of 2024 there were 19,125 potential victims of modern slavery—the highest number of referrals since records began in 2009. Of these, 23% were British nationals like Bear. In Monday’s episode, Bear is joined by other slave labourers living and working for Celia. They all live in the attic, with Anya (Alia Al-Shabibi) – the Romanian girl we saw on Friday’s episode – as well as Mick (Leon Harrop), who has Down’s Syndrome.
Josh gives me a tour of their slave quarters. As the first to be picked up by Ray, Bear’s the only one with a bed; the rest sleep on the floor, with a little roped-off area for female slaves. He says: “It’s a very old loft, part of the farm the traffickers are keeping us in. We work the farm and sleep up here. There’s a bucket in the corner for when you want to go to the toilet. There’s a tin bath for washing, but not much time to wash. We get food, but no wages. It’s disgraceful. It’s horrifying. You become almost institutionalised to it and think that’s the only thing you deserve.”
Also on set are advisors from The Salvation Army, Isobel McFarlane and Shanice Brown, who have helped Emmerdale on the storyline. The unsanitary living conditions are straight from the trafficker’s playbook, according to Shanice. It’s the stripping of humanity, breaking you down to make you more compliant,” says Isobel. “Often, people have told us they don’t even realise they’re victims—it creeps up gradually.”
Paddy Kirk’s troubled when he opens a package addressed to Bear and it reveals his dad hasn’t been visiting his wrestling friends in Ireland.
In the weeks leading up to Bear’s plight, the soap has shown April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) being exploited as a drug runner for Ray and Celia, who have also tried to push her into sex trafficking. April’s fate is intertwined with Bear’s as both are now trapped in modern slavery. We have seen a rise in County Lines exploitation, where gangs groom and coerce vulnerable young people to move drugs between cities and rural areas.” explains Shanice. “And forced labour is one of the most widespread forms of modern slavery in the UK today, with an increase in British people accessing our services.”
After Albanians, British people are the second highest nationality that the charity supports. “People just like Bear,” says Isobel. “Modern slavery is a human rights abuse, not an immigration issue.” Over the last 14 years, The Salvation Army has supported 27,000 people trapped in modern slavery. It provides survivors with accommodation, counselling, medical care, legal advice, and life-skills programmes .
Estimates suggest 122,000 people are living in modern slavery today and vulnerabilities such as disabilities, addiction and family issues – like Bear’s, who left Emmerdale under a cloud – are a common thread. Traffickers are groomers—they spot weaknesses, convince victims it’s for their own good. People fall for it because they get attention and feel useful, but it’s simply exploitation,” adds Josh.
“For Bear, it was feeling like a spare part within his family. I think what you might call a sort of geriatric depression— he feels completely worthless and useless.” Providing a job and accommodation means the traffickers have ultimate control over victims. “This is now Bear’s home and his job,” says Josh. “He asks for his money, but is told by Ray, ‘Well, yeah, but you’ve got to pay for your accommodation. That’s got to come out of the earnings.’”
Matthew Rose who plays slave master Ray and Joshua Richards who plays Bear.
On working with Joe, Josh says: “He’s been dropped in at the deep end with playing Ray. An extraordinary feat of acting skill to portray such a complex character in so short a time frame— showing Ray’s ruthless manipulation, whilst hinting at his own history of being a victim. And Joe has fitted in so well with our Emmerdale family—we’ve all fallen rather in love with him.”
After lunch, I speak to the slave master himself. Joe, 46, became a household name playing Matthew Rose in BBC soap EastEnders from 1997 to 2000. Another complex character, Ray grew up being groomed and abused by Celia – and is now doing the same to April and Dylan (Fred Kettle). “When I was told my character was keeping Bear in the attic, I thought it was going to be Ray rescuing some kind of dancing bear,” Joe chuckles. “Then I realised, obviously, there’s a character called Bear.”
Joe says of working with Josh: “It is a strange relationship in that I am essentially the captor. A bit like Stockholm Syndrome, where you become a family, that’s exactly what Josh and I sort of did with Ray and Ted – which is what Ray calls Bear. We have fun on set, but are doing the best job we can.”
Director Tim believes the writing and acting ensure the storyline isn’t too dark for teatime viewing. “Ray manipulates everyone, pretending to be nice and friendly, gradually owning the characters and making them work for nothing and get abused,” he says. “Joe has played that beautifully.”
But Tim admits it will be an upsetting watch for fans. “I’ve worked at Emmerdale for nearly 30 years—this storyline has affected me more than any other,” he reveals. “One of the scenes that Josh played today, I think it’s the first time I’ve got tearful during a rehearsal, and I looked around, and the crew were fighting their emotions as well. It’s heart-rending. Viewers should be prepared to have handkerchiefs ready.”
Emmerdale ‘100 days of Bear’ airs on Monday at 7.30pm on ITV.
