EMMERDALE fans know him as clean-cut Joe Tate – but Ned Porteous looks very different these days.
The actor – a soap favourite from 2017 to 2019 – appeared alongside his stunning girlfriend with a big bushy beard.
Ned, who has been travelling the world, was in San Francisco with the Californian’s city’s Golden Gate Bridge behind him.
He captioned the pic, which saw him posing beside a pouting Sophia Lo, simply: “SanFran.”
The new facial hair didn’t go unnoticed by his soap pals with Mike Parr, who was Emmerdale‘s Ross Barton, writing: “Your beard is fake.”
Another follower admired the new look writing: “Boys got beardy.”
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Ned has popped up in Barcelona, Los Angeles and – last week – a winery in the Napa Valley.
The actor – who was also Grant Mitchell and Michelle Fowler’s son Mark in EastEnders – appeared on Emmerdale for 183 episodes.
He joined in 2017 as young businessman Tom Waterhouse, which turned out not to be his real name.
The character, who is quickly revealed to be Joe Tate, was originally played by Oliver Young.
Joe was seemingly killed off in October 2018 but was revealed to be alive and living abroad the following year.
His return has long been teased, with many fans believing he will return to the Dales one day.
Since leaving the soap Ned has appeared in Netflix’s big-budget drama Bridgerton as Lord Wetherby.
