Ray Mullen in Emmerdale was the charming businessman who swept Louise Appleton off her feet.
But Ray had a dark side and their love story ended very badly indeed!
Here’s the lowdown.
Ray’s arrival in Emmerdale
Ray bought Mill Cottage back in the early noughties, annoying Rodney Blackstock, who wanted to buy it for himself.
He made friends with vicar Ashley Thomas and started wooing Louise, who fell for his charms.
But it wasn’t long before Ray began showing his unsavoury side. He even terrorised Cain Dingle – yes, Cain Dingle – by getting him involved in a counterfeit money scam which ended up with Cain getting a beating.
Illegal immigrants
By far the worst thing Ray was up to was people trafficking.
In 2002, he booked Tate Haulage to move goods for him. But it wasn’t just goods he was transporting – Ray had a sideline in bringing illegal immigrants into the country.
Charity Tate – who was married to Chris Tate at the time – discovered what Ray was up to and together with Terry Woods, who was in love with Louise – tried to expose Ray’s criminal activities but soon realised she was out of her depth.
That’s how nasty he was!
Louise and her stalker
Ray helped Louise buy a share in The Woolpack and then proposed, but Louise turned him down because she didn’t want to be bought.
Shortly after that, Louise started getting odd phone calls and she became convinced she was being stalked.
The sinister activity ramped up, and Louise turned to Ray for support.
She started getting creepy gifts of lingerie through the post and was living in fear. It turned out, though, that Ray was behind her ordeal!
He was doing it to control her.
When things got really bad, Ray persuaded Louise to leave Emmerdale with him for a new life in Italy.
Ray proposed and this time Louise accepted and at Christmas 2002, they set off. But before Louise left, she rang her stalker’s phone and left a message.
Ray Mullen’s death
In the car on the way to the airport, Ray’s phone rang and to her horror, Louise realised he had two phones. She played the voicemail and heard her own voice!
Shocked to be found out, Ray drove off the road and Louise scarpered.
But Ray followed her back to Mill Cottage. There was a struggle and Louise whacked him over the head, killing him.
With the help of lovestruck Terry, Louise covered up her crime, making it look like there had been a break-in and Ray had been killed by the burglar.
When Ray’s brother came to the village after his death, he told Louise she was his only girlfriend to have survived a relationship with him.
Who played Ray Mullen in Emmerdale?
Ray was played by actor Seamus Gubbins.
He was an established actor when he won the role of Ray, having appeared in shows including Cardiac Arrest, The Bill, Casualty, Heartbeat and Taggart.
But in 2012, Seamus narrowly avoided prison after being convicted of growing cannabis.
He was given a suspended sentence and ordered to do 160 hours of community service.
At the time he said he was in a bad place after his marriage had broken up and his property business failed.
Read more: Who is in the cast of Emmerdale 2022? Meet the full line-up
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
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