Joshua Richards Reveals 30-Year Marriage to Sarah Parks
joshua richards has been married to Sarah Parks for over three decades, linking two ITV soap families through one household in Halifax in West Yorkshire. Richards, who plays Bear Wolf on Emmerdale, said Parks has supported him through his time on the soap.
His wife has a long screen history of her own. Parks appeared in Emmerdale as barrister and later judge Hilary Browning intermittently from 2001 to 2005, and made 11 Coronation Street appearances in different roles.
Sarah Parks on Coronation Street
Parks played a midwife in Coronation Street in 1998, Council planning officer Andrea Chaplin in January 2004, Linda in 2007, and DS Pullen between July and August 2021. Richards said of her Emmerdale work: "She has played a judge in Emmerdale before,"
He also said, "In the end, I ended up being on Emmerdale and she is the one who supports me. I was only supposed to be in the soap for six months, but I'm now in my eighth year and it's flown by. I love being in Emmerdale. It's the best job in the world." Richards joined Emmerdale in 2019 and said he now is in his eighth year on the programme.
Bear Wolf and Paddy Kirk
Richards plays Bear Wolf, the father of Paddy Kirk, played by Dominic Brunt. Bear is currently in prison after admitting to killing Ray Walters, played by Joe Absolom, in 2025 to prevent Ray from murdering Paddy and Dylan, played by Fred Kettle.
Paddy and Dylan helped Bear conceal the killing, and Paddy later confessed to his role in the affair. They are facing charges for perverting the course of justice, keeping Richards' character at the center of one of Emmerdale's most serious current storylines while his real-life marriage stays largely out of view.
Richards and Parks in Halifax
Richards said the two read Dr Meghan Rossi's Eat More Live Well as part of his weight loss, which took him from 17 and a half stone to 13 and a half stone in 2025. He said, "My health wasn't too good. And I was tucking into all the wrong meals from Emmerdale catering like lasagne and chips."
He added, "We read a book by Dr Meghan Rossi called Eat More Live Well - and that really helped me lose the weight. I did what it told me - ate more vegetables, more fibre and looked after my gut health."
The marriage gives viewers a direct link between Emmerdale and Coronation Street through two actors who have worked in both worlds. Parks' credits also include The Bill, Shameless, Meet the Richardsons, Fat Friends, My Parents Are Aliens and Scott and Bailey.
