Bradley Riches, who plays Lewis Barton in Emmerdale, has opened up about being on the autistic spectrum and how acting has helped him

Bradley Riches appeared on Loose Women (Image: ITV screengrab)

Emmerdale star Bradley Riches revealed acting “saved” him after opening up about being on the autism spectrum.

The actor – who portrays Lewis Barton in the ITV soap – received his diagnosis at nine and remained non-verbal until the age of 10.

During his Friday (November 21) guest spot on ITV’s Loose Women, he explained how drama lessons had helped him, reports the Mirror.

Speaking about his journey, the Heartstopper actor told the presenters: “So, with me, for example, especially with my childhood, I didn’t use words for formal communication until I was 10.”

When questioned about his communication methods, Bradley revealed: “Through, like, sound, movement, communication cards. For example, if my shoes weren’t feeling right, I would have a card and slap it to communicate with my parents.”

Bradley plays Lewis Barton in the soap (Image: ITV)

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Asked whether drama lessons had been beneficial, he responded: “Yeah, I feel like acting definitely saved me in a lot of ways.

“It’s like, obviously, growing up, not speaking, and then my nan being like, ‘Oh, let’s just throw him into a drama class for confidence.’ I was like, OK, that’s bonkers. But I went in there and then I would start listening to you know, like you’re watching TV, like these American accents, and slowly over time, I was putting these accents on, and through characters, I kind of learn via myself.”

He continued: “So through a character, I’ve kind of embedded, OK, how would Bradley say this? How would I do this? Through acting, it was kind of an escapism, and it was kind of changing.”

The actor said he was diagnosed aged nine (Image: ITV screengrab)

Bradley, 23, joined the cast of Emmerdale this year as Lewis Barton and revealed he jumped at the role.

He shared with the panel: “When I found out Lewis was an autistic character, it was, everything I do, every job I take, I’ve always wanted to kind of fly the flag for the community I’m a part of, like, be it the queer community or the autistic community. So, when I found out, you know, Lewis was a double, gay and autistic, I was like, get in there!”

“I mean, I have always wanted to tell stories, autistic stories, especially positive ones,” the actor added.