Emmerdale’s Bradley Riches didn’t speak until he was 10 – now he’s the soap’s first neurodivergent character

Holly BishopMon, May 11, 2026 at 11:52 AM UTC

0

Emmerdale’s Bradley Riches didn’t speak until he was 10 – now he’s the soap’s first neurodivergent character

Bradley Riches has opened up on the “amazing” experience of playing Emmerdale’s first neurodivergent character.

In May 2025, Riches joined the soap as a new regular character named Lewis Barton, the long-lost younger brother of Ross Barton and the show’s first autistic character.

Advertisement

The Heartstopper star has previously explained that he was diagnosed with autism at the age of nine, and did not speak until he was 10 years old.

Speaking to The Independent at the BAFTA TV Awards on Sunday (10 May), the actor said that he thinks it is “really cool to be like a role model to the community.”

“You think ‘God, it's 2026. Why, why the hell am I the first one?’” Riches added.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”