EMMERDALE newcomer Bradley Riches has admitted soap bosses allowed him to re-write parts of the script after joining the programme as Lewis Barton.
The actor was unveiled as the ITV soap’s new star signing earlier this year and has already become a fan favourite among the viewers of the show.
Like Bradley, Lewis is autistic and the actor has worked with show bosses in order to carve out the best ways of accurately portraying a character such as Lewis.
Speaking to The Sun alongside co-star Natalie J. Robb at this year’s , he revealed how he had been allowed to make changes to the script and dialogue for his character.
Heartstopper actor Bradley told us: “I think when they first said he was a neurodivergent character, an autistic character – they were like we really want to use the language that Bradley would use.
“They were very open with that.
“When I got the first script, for me personally, I don’t say ‘I have autism’, because it feels like an extension – I just say ‘I’m autistic’ because it is part of me.
“So little lines like that I changed and they were very open to that and understanding.”;
He continued: “A lot of the things that people don’t understand about Lewis are probably because he is an autistic character.
“Him hyperfixating on what the hell happened to his mum and Moira is like ‘she was a crazy woman’ but he is hyperfixating on what happened to his mum.
“He is tunnel vision until he knows the truth.”;
His character Lewis has already begun to cause chaos in the Dales after discovering the true secrets of his biological family.
Despite initially bonding with his brother Ross Barton, he soon began to fall out with his family as the truth behind his mother Emma’s murder came to light.
It saw Lewis vow to run to the cops and tell them that it was in fact Moira who killed Emma and not her son, Adam, like they believe.
Fans will remember that Adam covered for his mum and took the blame for the killing and went on the run as a result.
The incident has largely been forgotten about until Lewis’ shock appearance in the village.
Bradley first rose to fame in Netflix’s smash hit drama, Heartstopper.
He then appeared as a housemate in the first revival series of Celebrity Big Brother on ITV last year and was cruelly evicted through the back door just days before the show’s final.
