Emmerdale casts Celebrity Big Brother star for mysterious new role in village
Emmerdale has confirmed that a brand new character is set to arrive in the village in the coming weeks, with the mysterious role being played by Celebrity Big Brother star Bradley Riches
Bradley Riches is swapping the Big Brother house for the Yorkshire Dales. Bradley, who is best known for his role in Heartstopper, is set to cause a stir in Emmerdale as he takes on an intriguing new role. The ITV soap has kept tight-lipped about who Bradley, 23, will play, only hinting at a "special and mysterious" persona.
Bradley's scenes are scheduled to hit our screens in May after he began filming this week as a new regular character. While more details of his character will be revealed in the coming weeks, the star has shared his excitement. He said: ”I’m beyond excited to be joining Emmerdale! It’s a real bucket list moment for me, especially since it was my grandad’s favourite soap, I just know he’d be over the moon. Everyone has been so lovely and welcoming, and the village is even more amazing in real life.
Bradley Riches has joined the cast of Emmerdale as a new regular character (Image: ITV)
"I absolutely love my character (though I can’t spill too much just yet!), and I’m just so grateful for this opportunity. I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s in store…”
Emmerdale producer, Laura Shaw, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Bradley to the Emmerdale family. Bradley brings a wealth of talent and his warmth, wit and charisma makes him perfect for this new Emmerdale role. We have some wonderful stories for him to play and we can't wait for the audience to see Bradley bring his new character bursting into life on screen.“
Bradley rose to fame as James McEwan in the Netflix teen series Heartstopper, which he had originally joined as an extra, before being offered a series regular role.
Bradley Riches appeared in the last series of Celebrity Big Brother (Image: ITV)
He told Buzzfeed: "I had like one line in season one! And then I was studying and stuff like that. Then I got a random email one day saying, 'Can you come in tomorrow to audition for a new character called James?' I was like, okay.
"And it was kind of wild that they remembered me from that one line a year back."
Sharing advice, Bradley said: "Just get involved. I think that's the big thing I learned. It's like, you just want to get your name out there and like meet people. I nearly didn't do the one line as well. Because I didn't want to miss a day of college, but my mum was like 'Just do it, we'll pretend you're ill; just go for it.' And if I didn't do it I wouldn't be sat here."
Bradley appeared in the 23rd series of CBB las year alongside Coronation Street star Colson Smith. Bradley, who finished sixth in the series, became close to the soap star and eventual winner David Potts.
Meanwhile, Emmerdale is buzzing with major plotlines – Joe Tate's desperate fight for survival, Manpreet's blackmail saga, and Nate's shocking demise. But will Bradley's character have a part in these unfolding dramas or something entirely different?
Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 7.30pm on ITV and STV with episodes available for streaming on ITVX and STVPlayer.
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