Emmerdale’s newest star warns ‘expect the unexpected’ as he gears up for ‘big reveal’
EXCLUSIVE: A former Celebrity Big Brother star, who shot to fame as James McEwan in Netflix's Heartstopper, recently joined the Emmerdale cast as a mysterious character.
Celebrity Big Brother star Bradley Riches has teased his mysterious character on Emmerdale just days after he announced he is joining the ITV soap. The 23-year-old actor, who shot to fame as James McEwan on the Netflix hit series Heartstopper, was confirmed by ITV bosses to have signed up for the long-running soap. He also recently appeared on Celebrity Big Brother last year alongside Nikita Kuzmin and Sharon Osbourne. Bradley has kept a lid on who he will portray, but he will be a new regular character. Fans should expect his new character to appear on our television screens from May onwards.
Speaking exclusively to Express Online, Bradley has opened up about his initial reaction to joining Emmerdale, and what fans can expect from his mysterious new role.
Bradley Riches has teased fans about his mysterious new character (Image: Instagram)
Keeping secret about his character, he confessed, “Expect the unexpected. Emmerdale is my first soap, so I never knew the fandom behind it because, obviously, I’m used to the Heartstopper fandom.
“So when this, when it first got announced, I didn’t think anyone would care. I didn’t think anyone would care that much about who I was, so I didn’t think that I’d get a big reaction.”
“I didn’t expect this massive soap fan base to be like detectives trying to work out who I was, so everything I say, everything I post, I’m like triple checking so nothing gets leaked.”
Bradley Riches is running the London Landmarks Half Marathon (Image: LLHM)
He recalled his initial reaction when he got the Emmerdale gig: “It was when I was doing panto, so it was just phoning my mum because I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. So it was my mum, dad, sister, her partner, everyone who knew, and I was just like, I’m so excited.”
Bradley will participate in the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday, April 6. The event will see 20,000 runners take on the stunning 13.1-mile route through the heart of London, passing 16 of the capital’s iconic attractions.
Speaking about the upcoming race, he said, “I’m just gonna go like I did last year, just run it, enjoy it, and yeah, hopefully, I want get quicker than last year. So there is a bit of determination there and we get it in 2 hours or under.”
Bradley is fundraising for Autistica, a UK-based organisation that funds and campaigns for research on autism and related conditions. The London Landmarks Half aims to raise £16 million in 2025, and the fundraising will support the vital work carried out by race organisers Tommy’s and their 650+ charity partners.