Bear Wolf (Emmerdale)

Bear Wolf is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Joshua Richards. The character and casting were announced in January 2019 and Richards made his first appearance as Bear in the episode airing on 12 February 2019. Richards was happy to be cast and revealed that his deceased mother was a superfan of the soap. Bear was introduced as a professional wrestler and the potential father of Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt). The character was modelled on real-life wrestler Giant Haystacks. When Paddy finds out that his mother had an affair with Bear, he is reluctant to find out the truth about his paternity as he does not want to betray the man who he believed was his father. However, he later meets Bear and a DNA test reveals that they are father and son. Bear initially gives Paddy a bad impression but they later bond in special episodes filmed in Northern Ireland. Richards explained that Bear is surprised that he has a son but is grateful to receive genuine attention and love. Bear later moves to the Emmerdale village and his subsequent storylines see him become a grandfather, reveal that he is illiterate and support Paddy when he attempts suicide.

In 2023, Bear develops romantic feelings for Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley), but she rejects him as she has feelings for Paddy. Bear later finds out about Mandy's Findom sex work and exposes her to Paddy ahead of their wedding. Bear also develops feelings for Claudette Anderson (Flo Wilson), but it does not go anywhere. In 2025, Emmerdale producer revealed that Bear would go missing in a new storyline and that he would be different upon his return, which prompted several fan theories. Reception to the character has been mixed from critics and viewers. Bear's love triangle with Paddy and Mandy was described as awkward by critics but the storyline where Paddy teaches him to read was praised but viewers, although they also noted a plot hole. The storyline where Bear tries to stop Mandy and Paddy from getting married was criticised by viewers who theorised that he was doing this due to his jealousy over Paddy being with Mandy. Viewers have also noted on social media about Bear's change in appearance and Kerry Barrett from Emmerdale Insider opined in 2025 that the character needed to be used more.