In the near future, audiences of Emmerdale will be introduced to a fresh face - that of Lewis Barton, who is set to create a significant impact upon his arrival in the village.

Actor Bradley Riches brings Lewis to life, a character who just so happens to be Ross Barton's (played by Mike Parr) half-brother. This newcomer's presence not only ruffles Ross' feathers but also awakens the past for Moira Dingle.

Fans of the show are sure to recall Emma Barton - Ross, Pete, Finn and now Lewis' mother, who initially abandoned her family only to be rediscovered by Finn in 2015. Her tumultuous storyline involved the murder of her ex-husband James and son Finn, culminating in her own demise in 2017 after Moira pushed her off a viaduct.

With Lewis entering the scene as Emma's offspring, both Moira and Ross find themselves on edge, with Ross fighting to keep the lid on his family's sinister secrets. Bradley Riches, the 23 year old actor behind Lewis, who has starred in 'Heartstopper' and 'Celebrity Big Brother', has shed some light on how he came to secure the role in a recent press chat.

Commenting on his recruitment process, Bradley recalled: "I was at the NTAs (National Television Awards) for Big Brother, they were nominated for best reality.", reports Leicestershire Live.

The actor shared that it was a "chance" meeting while waiting for a taxi home that led to a conversation with the Emmerdale team, as Emmerdale's boss, Laura Shaw, wanted a video for her Heartstopper fan daughter.

"I asked Laura: 'What do you do on the show?' and she said: 'I'm the producer!' I said I'd always wanted to be in a soap, Emmerdale's my granddad's favourite. Laura said: 'This is Faye, the casting director.'

"They said they'd message my agent to get me in for a meeting and I thought: 'Yeah, right, I bet they'll message my agent!' But the next week, they actually did!"

Bradley then revealed that he initially auditioned for a different character, saying: "I came in for the role of Dylan first [the homeless teenager who supported April Windsor when she went missing], but then this role of Lewis Barton came up."

Bradley described his new character as: "He's quite an outgoing character. He's not afraid to say the wrong thing, but I don't think he knows he's saying the wrong thing sometimes. I think he's just very straight to the point.

"When he first meets Ross, usually when you meet a new person you're walking on eggshells to make sure you're not being too much, but Lewis is straight in with all the hard questions.

"He's fun, he's charismatic and he doesn't really care what he says. I don't think he overthinks anything, which is fun to play!"

Emmerdale continues every weeknight at 7:30pm on ITV and ITV X with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. Each episode is available to watch at 7am on ITV X also.