Daz Spencer: secret daughter, sneaky kisses, and a bitter rivalry with brother Dan
Daz brought the drama!
Daz Spencer is returning to Emmerdale after five years, for Amelia’s exit story.
Daz is Amelia’s biological dad and she – along with daughter Esther – will leave Yorkshire for a new life with Daz in Leicester.
So we thought the time was right for a quick reminder about who Daz was, what he got up to during his years on Emmerdale and where he’s been.
Here’s the lowdown on everything you need to know about Daz Spencer.
Who is Daz Spencer?
Daz is the biological father of Amelia, and brother to Dan Spencer – who thought he was Amelia’s dad, and who brought her up.
After a quick stint in the village in 2014, Daz moved on and then returned for two years in 2017.
Daz’s history included time in the army. He held the rank of Staff Sergeant and served in Afghanistan.
When he arrived in Emmerdale, he claimed he was working as a private security consultant after 18 years of service, and told brother Dan he’d left the army of his own accord.
But that wasn’t exactly true…
Daz arrives in Emmerdale
Dan wasn’t overjoyed to see his brother but he agreed to let him stay, mostly because son Sean talked him into it. But it wasn’t long before Dan was regretting his decision, when Daz kicked off his stay by arranging a robbery at David’s shop.
Not only that, Daz took a fancy to Dan’s fiancée, Kerry Wyatt. He even tried to kiss her at his brother’s stag do!
Dan saw everything and not surprisingly, he fell out with his brother. After some digging, it came out that Daz had actually been kicked out of the army rather than leaving of his own accord. Fed up with all the lies, Dan kicked him out.
Daz returns to the Dales
A couple of years after his initial 2014 arrival, Daz made it back to the village. He wasn’t quite done with his drama yet…
In 2017, Daz was homeless and roaming the streets. Kerry spotted him begging and trying to con money in Hotten. She tracked him down to a ‘Haircuts for the Homeless’ event, but he bolted as soon as he saw Kerry.
Kerry is nothing if not tenacious, mind you, and didn’t give up. She brought the brothers together, which ended up in a scuffle, and Daz left. But Kerry took pity on him and let him have a shower in her and Dan’s house before he went.
Dan lost his temper and Kerry snapped. Fed up with how badly he was treating his brother, she tricked Dan into going to the pub with his friends, stole his keys and locked him out of the house, in order to teach him a lesson about what Daz had been through.
Amelia and Kerry pleaded with Dan and eventually he relented and allowed Daz to stay in his camper van. Daz got a job at the cafe and settled into village life.
Emmerdale: Daz and Dan make up
With relations still prickly between Dan and Daz, tensions came to a head when Dan discovered Daz was carrying a knife.
Amelia had begged him to get rid, but he said it was a memento of his army days that he’d held onto it out of sentimentality.
Eventually, it was revealed that Dan had been involved in an incident whilst homeless, where he had been beaten up and urinated on by a group of thugs while he was sleeping. Daz ended up in hospital with a fractured skull and broken ribs. He couldn’t even eat food for a week. Not surprisingly, Daz had developed PTSD.
When Dan heard all this, he softened towards his brother and told him he, Kerry and Amelia would be there for him.
Another hiccup for the Spencers
Daz is actually the biological father of Amelia, despite Dan raising her.
Dan always believed that he was Amelia’s father. But, Daz did a paternity test in 2018 after Amelia’s mum, Ali, died.
The test revealed that Daz was actually Amelia’s biological dad (which came as a bit of a shock to everyone).
Not surprisingly, Amelia struggled with this news at first. With her head all over the place, she ended up going missing. She was found living with a rather creepy girl called Beth who she’d met in an online chatroom.
Daz left the village in 2019 after drunkenly running down Graham Foster. At first Amelia took the blame for the hit and run, wanting to protect her dad.
Daz in Emmerdale is played by Mark Jordon. He was already a familiar face to telly fans, having also played PC Phil Bellamy in Heartbeat.
He has also appeared in Holby City, Casualty and Coronation Street among many others.
Mark was born in Oldham on January 25 1965, making him 59 years old.
Mark’s family life
Mark was married to actress Siobhan Finneran and the pair had two children together, Poppy and Joseph, who are both now in their twenties. He and Siobhan divorced in 2014.
Now Mark is happily in a relationship with his co-star Laura Norton, who plays Kerry Wyatt in Emmerdale.
They have two children together. Both son Jesse and daughter Ronnie have been diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, a rare genetic disease that can affect vision and hearing. Mark and Laura have become patrons of the Cure Usher Syndrome charity and have thrown themselves into raising awareness of the condition.
Mark also appeared alongside Laura when she took part in ITV reality show Drama Queens earlier in 2024.
Why did Mark Jordon leave Emmerdale?
Mark was originally written out of Emmerdale in 2018 after being accused of affray, unlawful wounding and assault by beating. He denied all charges and said he acted in self-defence.
After a trial, a jury found Mark not guilty on all charges. He was tearful, and speaking outside court later, he said he was looking forward to getting back to his career.
Since then he has appeared in ITV’s Yorkshire Ripper drama, The Long Shadow, on stage and now on Emmerdale once more.
Read more: Complete Emmerdale cast list 2024
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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