Bradley Riches
Bradley Stephen Richesis an English actor and writer.
After appearing in various stage productions, he was cast as James McEwan on the Netflix series Heartstopper in 2022. Riches then appeared as a housemate on the twenty-third series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2024 and has since joined the cast of the ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale as Lewis Barton. Riches has also released two books about his experience growing up with autism.
Career
Riches made his stage debut in 2016, appearing as twins Ben and Lisa in the musical Disaster!. He went on to appear in various other stage productions including Goodnight Mister Tom, Monstersongs, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Footloose and Kin the Musical. He also had a minor role as a soldier in the film 1917. In April 2022, Riches portrayed a student at Truham Grammar School in the Netflix teen series Heartstopper. His character was later established in the second series as James McEwan, who has a crush on Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan).
In November 2023, Riches released his debut book, "A" Different Kind Of Superpower. It is a semi-autobiographical children's book that recalls Riches' autism diagnosis as a nine-year and reframes neurodivergence in all its forms as a superpower". Riches said he wanted to "expand on his story so that as many people as possible could find themselves in some part of the character's journey". In March 2024, Riches was a Housemate Celebrity Big Brother in its twenty-third series finishing 6th with 1.6% of the final vote after a surprise back door eviction later in the year, he appeared in the BBC One comedy horror series Wreck as Freddie.
In December 2024, Riches made his pantomime debut at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre in Buckinghamshire in The Further Adventures of Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook. In March 2025, it was announced that Riches would be joining the cast of ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Lewis Barton, a regular character and addition to the established Barton family. In 2026, he released his second book, Autistically Me.
