Matthew Wolfenden (born 5 May 1980) is an English actor and screenwriter, known for his role as

David Metcalfe David Metcalfe is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Matthew Wolfenden. It was reported in August 2023 that he was set to leave the soap after 17 years, due to a lack of "gritty" storylines. David's ...

in the British soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

''.

Early and personal life

Wolfenden was born in

Norwood Green, West Yorkshire Norwood Green is a small village situated between Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the metropolitan borough of Calderdale. The village falls within the Calderdale ward of Hipperholme and Lightcliffe. It once ...

. He was educated at Brighouse High School. Wolfenden was a member of the British gymnastics squad until, aged 16, he fell whilst practising on the rings and broke his back. This prevented him from continuing gymnastics and he turned to acting. Wolfenden was married to his ''Emmerdale'' co-star

Charley Webb Charlene Joanne Webb (born 26 February 1988), commonly known as Charley Webb, is an English actress. From 2002 to 2021, she portrayed the role of Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. In 2014, she was nominated for Best Female ...

and the couple have three sons. Wolfenden proposed to Webb on Christmas Day in 2009. They married in February 2018, and have three sons together; their third son was born on 26 July 2019. They separated in September 2023. In 2021, Wolfenden and ''Emmerdale'' co-star

Isabel Hodgins Isabel Hodgins (born 23 November 1993) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Victoria Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2006. Career Hodgins made an appeal in the '' Salford Advertiser'' for funding to allow he ...

were absent from the soap for three months following a "race row". The actors were accused of mocking the accent of a mixed race actress, as well as making an "inappropriate comment". They were allowed to return to the set from January 2022.

Career

In 2006, Wolfenden was cast as

, son of

Eric Pollard Eric Pollard (also Pollock) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Chris Chittell. He made his first appearance in the soap on 30 September 1986. Having appeared continuously since, he is currently the lon ...

(

Chris Chittell Christopher John Chittell BEM (born 19 May 1948) is an English actor, known for his role as Eric Pollard in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He has portrayed the role since 1986, making him the longest-serving cast member in the soap's histo ...

), in ITV's ''

''. His first acting job was as an extra on the programme, later he originally auditioned for the role of Eli Dingle, but lost out to

Joseph Gilgun Joseph William Gilgun (born 9 March 1984) is an English actor and producer known for several roles, including that of Vinnie O'Neill in the Sky Max series '' Brassic'', which he also co-created, Marcus in ''Hollyoaks'', Eli Dingle in the ITV ...

; then he was called back for the role of

. Wolfenden has also appeared in '' Hollyoaks: Let Loose'', a spin-off of ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

''. In early 2007, Wolfenden finished ninth on the second series of ''

Soapstar Superstar ''Soapstar Superstar'' is a British talent show that aired on ITV from 6 January 2006 to 13 January 2007. The show's format works in a similar format to that of ''Pop Idol'' and ''The X Factor'', in that the competition features a group of soa ...

''. He performed the songs " Bad Day" (

Daniel Powter Daniel Richard Powter (; born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His 2005 pop single " Bad Day" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks. He was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards for ...

) and "

Don't Stop Me Now "Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock band Queen, featured on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and released as a single on 26 January 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in ...

" (

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

). Wolfenden was partnered with Russian

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

Nina Ulanova Nina Ulanova (; occasionally romanised French-style as Oulanova; born 31 May 1978) is a Russian ice dancer. With former partner Michail Stifunin, she is the 1997 World Junior champion and 1998 Nebelhorn Trophy champion. Personal life Nina U ...

for the seventh series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

''. His gymnastic and dance background proved to be an advantage and he ended up in the final, against ''Hollyoaks'' actress

Jorgie Porter Jorgina Alexandra Porter (born 25 December 1987) is an English actress and model. She is known for portraying the role of Theresa McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2008 until 2016 and again from 2020. Early life Jorgina Ale ...

and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' contestant

Chico Slimani Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a Welsh singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show ''The X Factor''. In 2006, he had a number one hit on the British cha ...

. Wolfenden continued his role in ''Emmerdale'' while training for ''Dancing on Ice''. Wolfenden went on to win the series. In 2022, Wolfenden and ''Emmerdale'' co-star

Roxy Shahidi Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi (; born 14 March 1983) is an English actress and screenwriter. She is known for portraying from 2008 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2025 the role of Leyla Harding in ITV (TV channel), ITV soap ''Emmerdale''. In 2024, she was a ...

were co-signed to United Agents as screenwriters. They collaborated on an episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

medical drama ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' and three episodes of the BBC soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfenden, Matthew 1980 births Living people English male soap opera actors English soap opera writers English male television writers Reality show winners People educated at Brighouse High School Actors from Calderdale Male actors from West Yorkshire