"emmerdale" is a british soap opera. it was first broadcast on 16 october 1972. the following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2017, by order of first appearance. all characters are introduced by the series producer iain macleod. ethan, jason and maggie made their debuts in february. nell fairfax was introduced in march, while matt arrived in may. tim richards arrived in july. october saw the birth of isaac dingle. dee dee willis made her first appearance in november.