Emmerdale is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared during 2013, by order of first appearance. Ross Barton (Michael Parr) made his debut in July. Joanie Wright (Denise Black) made her first appearance in August. October saw the introduction of Lindy (Nimmy March), the mother of established character Ruby Haswell (Alicya Eyo), and former Coronation Street actor Bill Ward as James Barton. Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) and Gil Keane (David Easter) debuted in November, while Pete, played by Hollyoaks star Anthony Quinlan, and Finn Barton (Joe Gill) arrived in December. Additionally, multiple other characters appear throughout the year.