eece Dinsdale and Mark Womack have joined \'Emmerdale\'.
The former \'Coronation Street\' actor - who recently directed some \'Emmerdale\' episodes - will take on the role of Paul, who will be a blast from Mandy Dingle\'s (Lisa Riley) past and will stir things up for her and son Vinny (Bradley Johnson).
Reece said: "I\'m absolutely delighted to be joining the cast of \'Emmerdale\'.
"Having recently directed a couple of episodes, and seen at close quarters the superb work the cast, crews and creatives produce, I can\'t wait to become part of the team once again ... albeit in a different capacity.
"Time to get my acting boots back on."
And the \'Murphy\'s Law\' star Mark - who is married to former \'EastEnders\' actress Sam Womack (Ronnie Mitchell) - will portray police officer DI Malone, who has a dark history.
He said: "It\'s always a lot of fun to play the bad guy and Malone definitely falls into that category.
"I\'m looking forward to the audience seeing his twisted tale unfold on screen."
\'Emmerdale\' producer Laura Shaw added: "We are absolutely thrilled to have Reece Dinsdale and Mark Womack joining the \'Emmerdale\' family.
"Although playing very different characters, both come with huge stories that will see lives changed and big explosions in 2020.
"We\'re all very excited to see these two hugely talented and experienced actors grace our screens."
Last year, Reece admitted he had been inundated with work requests since axing his acting and directing agents - and wishes he did it "years back".
He wrote on Twitter: "Coming up to 60, I chose to jettison my acting and directing agents a couple of weeks ago.
"Suddenly I have so many fine people wanting to work with me.
"Wish I\'d done it years back. Never felt more at ease."
