Emmerdale's Roxy Shahidi says her 'protectiveness' of co-star helped her with difficult scenes

Emmerdale actress Roxy Shahidi has said that her natural protectiveness of young co-star Joe-Warren Plant helped her act out difficult scenes.

Her character Leyla Harding discovered during the ITV soap's Big Night Out episode that her biological son Jacob Gallagher was being groomed by teacher Maya Stepney.

This led her to attack Maya in the woods and leave her for dead.

Soap star Roxy has appeared on the ITV soap with actor Joe-Warren, who plays Jacob, since he was seven and says that her motherly love for him was real.

"What's been great for me is that I've worked with Joe-Warren since he was seven and you cant help but feel protective of him," Roxy told Lorraine Kelly on her programme today. "I think thats helped me [act] the difficult scenes because the love is real."

Emmerdale actress Roxy Shahidi opened up about her character Leyla discovering son Jacob was being groomed (ITV)

Roxy has worked with Joe-Warren Plant since he was seven (ITV)

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Roxy gushed over her co-star, who has been nominated for Best Young Actor at this year's British Soap Awards, saying: "It's such a huge storyline and hes carried it for months."

She said: "[Jacob's] being taken completely taken advantage of but to him it's so real and [Joe-Warren's] played it with such sincerity that you do feel how confusing it must be for him.

"I just think he's done so well from the beginning up until this point where it's all come out. He's had to do so much as an actor and he's done so well."

Leyla told Jacob what happened to Maya (Andrew Boyce)

Roxy gushed over her young co-star (ITV)

Roxy also spoke about working two weeks' worth of night shifts for the flashbacks, which meant that they even had to wear thermal wet suits to keep them warm.

"I think often it seems normal, unfortunately, for young girls to be taken advantage of by older men," she said. "But I think young boys being taken advantage of by older women... I think too often it can be made a joke of among teenage boys."

She added: "And I think seeing this story invested so long in the grooming allows people to see how he has been taken advantage of and although he may be experiencing those feelings, it doesn't make it right.

"He's still a victim in this situation."

*Lorraine airs weekdays at 8.30am on ITV