Bradley Riches Gets Love from 'Emmerdale' Cast Following Troll Comments
Emmerdale star Bradley Riches shares online hate — and his co-stars and fans rally around him with support.
The Heartstopper actor 
Bradley Riches, who plays Lewis Barton on Emmerdale, recently spoke up after receiving mean comments online — and his co-stars and fans had his back. The actor joined the ITV soap in May as Emma Barton’s long-lost son, and his character, who is gay and autistic, paints his nails and often feels nervous.
Bradley took to Instagram to share some of the hate and explain why representation matters. “This is normal too — and everyone deserves to feel seen,” he wrote. The post quickly attracted supportive messages from Emmerdale castmates like 
Beth Cordingly, who wrote “you are loved,” and 
James Moore, who joked about also wearing nail polish on the show. 
Ash Palmisciano and 
Eden Taylor-Draper added their encouragement, as did many fans praising Bradley for telling diverse stories.
Emmerdale continues to air on ITV every weeknight at 7.30 p.m. and streams on ITV X, where viewers can catch up anytime.