He was also the brother of Naomi Walters, who last appeared on the soap in July 2023.

Ethan was intelligent and had a strong sense of justice, having worked hard to become a successful lawyer.

He had a long-running feud with the Dingle family after being arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, with the storyline having consequences on his career.

Ethan crashed the vehicle he was driving while he and Nicky were rushing to reach Suni, who was in a precarious situation in a bar surrounded by homophobic thugs who previously attacked him and Nicky.

Nicky began to make his way to his partner, although Ethan stepped in and offered to drive as Nicky had been drinking.

During the journey, the distraught boyfriend’s hysteria grew when Suni didn’t answer his phone calls.

Having demanded that Ethan drive faster, the acceleration flipped the car while speeding through the country lanes.

The aftermath saw Nicky’s mother Ruby retaliate by knocking Ethan down in a hit and run.

Despite having been badly injured, Ethan managed to stumble his way to the village fete where several other residents were at the time.

Among those present were his father Charles, grandmother Claudette and GP Manpreet.

Initially, Ethan appeared to have been recovering from his injuries.

The storyline, however, took a dramatic turn when Ethan collapsed while chatting with Charles.

He was confirmed to have died off-screen, with Ruby’s husband Caleb the first to learn the truth, while her guilty conscience led her to tell Nicky at a later stage.

But before she confessed the truth to the police, she discovered from Charles that Ethan didn’t die from the injuries sustained in the hit and run.

Instead he died of a brain aneurysm just like his grandfather Victor.

Actor Emile John shared a farewell message having exited the show.

“After three years, Ethan’s journey on Emmerdale has come to an end,” he wrote in an emotional Instagram post.

“I feel extremely privileged to have entered this industry working on such an Iconic show.

“I honestly had the time of my life! Sharing the space with such talented folk on and off screen for the last few years has been a huge honour and an experience that’ll stay with me always.

“Huge thank you to those of you who have been invested in any of my storylines throughout my time on the show, seeing your reactions and opening important conversations have made it all the more worth it!

“With Love, Ethan Out.”

How to watch Emmerdale
Emmerdale graces our TV screens every day of the week.

New episodes air weekdays on ITV at 7.30pm — these are usually 30 minutes long, but there are also sometimes hour-long specials.