Emmerdale star Bradley Riches has called for a new romance plot for his character Lewis Barton.

Lewis arrived in the village earlier this year and has quickly made his mark in the community, even recently becoming the co-owner of the café with Nicola.

But speaking exclusively to us at a photoshoot for the Inside Soap Awards 2025, Bradley revealed that he would like to see romance on the horizon for his character.

“At the moment, I love Lewis just being himself and showing that you don’t need a partner,” he explained. “He’s never had a boyfriend, but he knows himself very well and knows that he likes boys.

“I definitely think he would be open to getting to know someone if the right person came along. It takes him a while to trust so it would be a slow burner if he did fancy someone – but it would also be very exciting!”

While Heartstopper favourite Bradley has only been on screen as Lewis since May, he is nominated for Best Newcomer at the awards this year.

“Being nominated for Best Newcomer is very exciting,” he told us. “When you come into a soap, you want to make an impact, and I think being nominated is testament to that. I’m very grateful.

“My first few months on Emmerdale have been really exciting. I’ve obviously never done a soap before, so it’s great to get the scripts through and be like, ‘oh god, what’s happening to Lewis next?’”

Viewers have loved seeing Lewis’ relationship with his long-lost brother Ross, and Bradley confirmed that there are lots more heartwarming scenes to come with co-star Michael Parr.

“Mike was the first person I met out of everyone, and we had that bond from the get-go,” he said. “We spent basically every day for a month together doing all our scenes, and it made us grow close.

“What you see on screen is what you see off screen, most of the time I feel like I’m not acting. There are so many nice moments coming up, it’s just brotherly love.”

Bradley also teases that there are “lots of exciting things” in the pipeline for Lewis, and suggests that viewers should “expect the unexpected”.

When asked why fans should support Emmerdale in the Best Soap category this year, Bradley replied: “The storylines have been great, the acting is great, and there’s a sense of love behind the camera.

“We have a great family environment at Emmerdale, and I think that comes through onto screens. Everyone is respected in the workplace for the work they do. If you’ve enjoyed it, vote for us!”