Emmerdale has signed a new cast member, and it turns out they were a Celebrity Big Brother star who captured the hearts of the nation.
Bradley Riches, 23, who found mainstream fame playing James McEwan in Netflix's LGBTQ+ teen drama 'Heartstopper,' appeared in Celebrity Big Brother's 23rd series in 2024, and people up and down the UK adored him. People were enamoured by his candidness on camera and the way he "pushed himself" and appear on CBB.
"I lie there in bed, and I think about how I'm gonna greet everyone in the morning, like how am I gonna say hi to everyone in the morning," Bradley admitted in an emotional conversation about his autism diagnosis with American actress and singer Marisha Wallace.
People found him relatable on social media, with someone praising him, saying: "I love that he opened up about this. It’s so hard because people have no idea how much energy and effort goes on internally to make it all happen".
Now today (Wednesday, March 19) Bradley took to Instagram to say that he was "so excited to announce" he would be arriving at the Dales later this year as a permanent character.
He then joked that he was going to give an "insider scoop" about his character, but the producer said "no" off camera to every sentence he started.
Bradley ended the video by excitedly saying that everyone would have to watch his "big entrance coming later this year on Emmerdale".
Fans of both Emmerdale and Celebrity Big Brother flooded the comments with support for Bradley, saying that his new role was "well-deserved" and praising him for his fantastic personality.
Someone penned: "Okay, he seems bright and bubbly. I hope I get to like him; I'm glad he kept quiet because I don't like spoilers".
A friend of Bradley's said: "This is so exciting! Proud of you!"
Someone joked: "Be careful, @brad_riches, it’s a dangerous place! Murders, kidnappings and a lot of ex-addicts live in the village. Look after yourself!"
Another added: "I can't wait to meet Bradley. I don't know him as I don't watch big brother but he looks like a lot of fun".
Winner of CBB David Potts penned: "The dales are about to slay so hard!!"
Others were concerned about the role Bradley would play, with one concerned viewer writing: "Omg don’t say it is another Dingle how many of them is there it is basically just all about them in that show."
