Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale star Bradley Riches has broken his silence on one of the show’s biggest unresolved storylines – the shocking truth over Lewis Barton’s paternity. The show recently revealed that Lewis is the secret son of bad boy Kev Townsend, who’s currently absent from the village… but for how long?
Kev headed out of the Dales feeling humiliated last month after his husband Robert Sugden chose Aaron Dingle over him. Although there was a chance for Kev to tell Lewis the truth about their own connection before he left, he ultimately chose to keep quiet. But as Kev threatened revenge against Robert before he went, could he be back at some point? Fans are certainly hoping so, after he became an unexpected viewer favourite during his initial stint.
Bradley has now opened up over the big storyline in an exclusive interview with Soap Scoop, the podcast from Inside Soap magazine with cast chats every week.
Addressing Kev’s current absence from the show, Bradley explained: “I would love for him to come back! I remember when it was the Inside Soap Awards, I’d just done my first block with Chris [Coghill, who plays Kev].
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“His first episode went live and someone on the red carpet asked me: ‘Are people gonna like Chris?’ In my head I was like, ‘I’m obsessed with Chris as a person’. So I was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re gonna fall in love with Kev’.
“Then I remembered that there’s parts of him that are actually quite dark! I remember everyone tagging me and saying things like, ‘When are we gonna fall in love with him? He’s a bad man at the moment’. I was like, ‘Oh my God, have I just got cancelled?’
“But I fell in love with Chris. I think he’s an amazing actor. He’s an amazing person. But I would love for him to come back.”
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He continued: “I had a vision of Nicola, Ross and Kev all trying to parent Lewis, but all falling over each other. For it to be quite comedic and for Lewis to just be like, ‘You guys are all just mental. I’m an adult, I know what to do’.
“I think the scenes with Lewis and Kev were really special as well. With Kev, there is obviously a neurodivergency there. I think that’s where Lewis and Kev feel seen because they both feel so different within the village, but they both see each other for their differences, which is really cool.
“I think that’d be such a nice father and son bond over time.”
Meanwhile, fans can expect an extra dose of Bradley on screen next week as he’ll be competing in ITV’s annual Christmas soap tradition – The Big Quiz: Coronation Street vs Emmerdale. The show airs at 9pm on Monday (15 December).
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Discussing the playful rivalry between the two shows, Bradley laughed: “You’re there putting your fists up, giving a little fight talk, but in reality, it is such a wholesome, fun thing to be a part of, especially at Christmas. We love their soap, they love our soap.
“Team Emmerdale is Lucy [Pargeter, who plays Chas], Mark [Charnock, who plays Marlon], Shebz [Miah, who plays Kammy] and me. I think last year there were three [cast] but there’s four this year, which is exciting.”
The full interview with Bradley is playing at the top of the page, covering loads more spoilers and gossip on Lewis’s ongoing storylines.
And there’s lots more to enjoy too: check out Inside Soap’s full collection of Soap Scoop podcast interviews right here!
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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