In our latest feature looking at Emmerdale stars away from the soap we’re taking a delve into the life of James Moore.
The actor, 28, impressed Emmerdale bosses so much when they hired him that they let him have substantial input in the role.
As our colleagues at The Mirror report, in 2018, James made his debut in the soap as Charity Dingle's long-lost son, Ryan Stocks, who she conceived after being rape by a policeman aged 14 and believed had died.
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The young actor, who has ataxic cerebral palsy, almost gave up on his acting dream because he believed a lack of disabled roles in the industry would hinder his chances.
"In order to have roles there needed to be disabled roles developed, so I was like, that could hold me back a little bit," said James in 2018.
James wanted to be an actor from the age of 13 but struggled to find work, so after going on to do a degree in photography, he attended the National Youth Theatre and took part in a number of plays and short films.
A mere two weeks after getting himself an agent, James bagged his role in Emmerdale.
"I just started emailing agents with this film that I’d done saying, ‘Hey. What’s up? I’m looking for representation.’
And then Yafta, actually in the building just over the road, got back to me and they signed me," James explained.
"Two weeks later they called me in and said Emmerdale want to see you. Two weeks."
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Emmerdale bosses wanted to hire someone with a ‘disability of some kind’ to play Charity Dingle's son.
"When I was brought in they were very open to learning about me, which I really liked," he said in 2018.
"I had a lot of conversations with people at ITV in Leeds and the researcher team, who asked me lots of questions about my disability, what I do – like my background and my early life – they really did a deep dive."
James has faced some tough challenges in his career and has admitted he ‘has issues with self doubt’, but he has loved being able to show disability in a new light with his platform on Emmerdale.
Despite appearing in the Yorkshire soap, James is actually from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.
Away from the cameras, James lives with his girlfriend Sophie Edwards and their adorable cat Tonto, who he has tattooed onto his leg.
James recently celebrated his second anniversary with Sophie, who he praised for helping him to ‘become a better person’ and learn to be more accepting and confident in his own skin.
Posting a tribute on Instagram in June this year, he wrote: "Two years. I can’t believe it. We’ve had two amazing, happy, incredible years together. We’ve come so far from where we started.
"We live together, we have our own little fur baby, and we are stronger than ever.
"I’m so thankful for your support and encouragement and just pure, absolute love that you give me each and every day, and I can’t wait to make some new memories with you in the years to come. Happy anniversary, I love you."
James won the Best Newcomer award at the National Television Awards 2019 for his portrayal of Ryan and his inspirational speech left viewers in tears.
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