(Spoiler Warning)
Mencap NI ambassador James Martin has been praised by fans for his starring role in Season 3 of Marcella.
The Belfast actor, who has Down's Syndrome, came to the public's attention after appeared in BBC NI drama Ups and Downs in 2017.
The film was a hit with audiences, as it saw James Martin dramatising the realities of living with Down's Syndrome in Northern Ireland.
Ups and Downs also earned James Martin an award for Best Actor at the New York City TV festival in 2019.
Now, Martin has taken his career a step further, with a role in season 3 of Marcella.
In the show, Martin plays the role of Danny Armstrong, the brother of a low-level drug dealer who runs into problems with the dangerous Maguire crime family.
In episode 3 of the series, Danny becomes a witness to the killing of his brother by Bobby Barnett (played by Martin McCann). He is then persuaded by Marcella to speak to the police about what he's seen.
However, unbeknown to Marcella, Danny's takes a toy gun, which he uses for protection, with him into the station.
This results in a dramatic stand-off with police officers, who believe the gun to be real.
The scene won over fans, who praised the tense finale of the episode, as well as Martin's acting in the scene.
One fan on Twitter wrote: "James Martin in #Marcella - what a stunning, well-rounded performance. One of my favourite on Netflix, seriously heart wrenching."
Local woman Judy Nelson also said: "Watching Marcella series 3 - James Martin is brilliant!"
Mencap NI also shared a post ahead of last week's episode.
In it, they praised James as a Mencap Ambassador, writing: "Brilliant to see our Mencap Ambassador actor James Martin back on our TV screens in Season 3 of #Marcella starring @AnnaFriel on @ITV, with the whole season available on the @itvhub. In this season Marcella goes undercover in Belfast.
Great stuff James."
The fourth episode of Marcella, which follows the aftermath of Danny's killing, will air tonight on ITV.
You can watch the entire series now on the ITV Hub.
