Life On Mars star Dean Andrews will join the cast of Emmerdale later this year.

Andrews’s character will find himself going head to head with Cain Dingle, played by Jeff Hordley, but further details have yet to be revealed.

However, it has been teased by the ITV soap that he will be “stirring up trouble” in the village.

Jeff Hordley
Dean Andrews’s character will be a rival of Jeff Hordley’s Cain Dingle (Ian West/PA)

Andrews said: “I have always loved Emmerdale and am thrilled to be joining the cast.

“As a Yorkshire lad I have always watched the show and think that everything from the acting to the stories are consistently great and I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Emmerdale’s executive producer Jane Hudson said: “We are absolutely delighted that Dean is joining the show.

“He is a superb actor and his character is certainly going to shake things up for some of our villagers. And as a Yorkshireman he is going to fit into Emmerdale perfectly.”

Andrews is best known for starring in BBC crime drama Life On Mars, in which he played DS Ray Carling. He reprised the role in its sequel series Ashes To Ashes.

He has also appeared in Torvill and Dean, Marchlands and The Moorside.

Andrews will appear in Emmerdale in spring.