Anthony Fox

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Anthony Fox is fictional character and major antagonist of the long-running ITV British soap opera Emmerdale, debuting on 19th November 2024 and serving as a major antagonist for the rest of the year before becoming the overarching antagonist throughout 2025.

In his characterisation, Anthony is the estranged father of Ruby Fox-Miligan and it is soon revealed that he had been sexually abusing her in the past. This consequently led to him fathering Ruby's daughter Steph, who was adopted by Ruby's husband Caleb Miligan as her legal guardian and father figure.

He is portrayed by Nicholas Day.

Biography[]

Anthony Fox grew up into becoming a respectful architect and ended up marrying a woman named Helen.

In 1976, they conceived a daughter named Ruby. Years later Ruby embarked on a relationship with businessman Caleb Miligan. When the couple started dating, Anthony distrusted Caleb and tried unsuccessfully to pay him off in breaking up with Ruby. In turn Anthony kicked Ruby out and divorced Helen before cutting off contact from them.

In 2024, Anthony turned up in Emmerdale upon learning where Ruby and Caleb were living there. As such their daughter Steph had been living with them and ended up contacting Anthony to spend some time with them, much to Ruby's discomfort. Anthony even confronted the couple after hearing that Caleb cheated on Ruby before finding out that she slept with his half-brother Cain Dingle, who soon ended up growing distrustful of Anthony after seeing Ruby acting unsettled with his presence.

It is soon revealed that Anthony had sexually abused Ruby in the past; he had been grooming her ever since she was 14-years-old before eventually raping her. In 2025, Ruby feared that Anthony may have fathered Steph as a result and decided to do a DNA test to confirm her suspicions; her worst fears proved true when the DNA test proved that Caleb was not the father, thereby meaning that her father Anthony is not only Steph's grandfather but also Steph's biological father too.

Weeks later, Caleb learns the truth when he and his half-sister Chas discover the extent of Ruby's horrific past. At first Caleb believed that Steph's biological father was Ruby's childhood ex-boyfriend Rob Harris, leading him to summon Rob in the village for answers. When Caleb realized his mistake after Rob admitted to being gay, therefore meaning that Rob and Ruby never slept together in the first place, Chas deduced that Anthony was the father and told Caleb about it. Soon enough Chas told Cain the truth and the pair sought to track down Caleb when he became determined to confront Anthony.

At the same time, Anthony crossed paths with local resident Nicola King and began tutoring the latter's daughter Angelica. This didn't last long when Chas told Nicola about Anthony's dark past, and a confrontation ensued that ended with Anthony getting knocked out by Nicola's best-friend Laurel Thomas when she witnessed the commotion. Anthony fled and accused Ruby of exposing their past before Caleb tracked him down and abducted him. They had a showdown until Anthony managed to escape.

However, before Anthony could flee the village, he was confronted by Chas' son Aaron over his dark past. Aaron attacked Anthony and revealed that he knew the truth about Ruby before admitting to being a victim of child sexual abuse as well - Aaron had been sexually molested by his late father Gordon Livesy in the past. Anthony soon goads Aaron into beating him up.

Just a while later, Anthony is killed before Aaron and his boyfriend John Sugden find his deceased body.

Navigation[]

Trivia[]

It is unknown when Anthony was born exactly.
He made a total of 38 appearances throughout his time on the show.
Anthony Fox is arguably considered one of the darkest, if not the darkest, villains in both the show and in British Soapland due to the extent of his crimes that include child sexual abuse and incest rape to the point of fathering his own daughter's child.
- Because of this, Emmerdale is the first British soap tackle such a storyline where a character is revealed to have not only sexually abused their own daughter but also ended up fathering their child as a result.