'Emmerdale' star Bradley Johnson has admitted Lisa Riley is like a "second mum" to him.
Bradley Johnson
The 23-year-old actor - who plays Vinny Dingle in the ITV soap - says his co-star and on-screen mother has been a "rock" for him during his time on the show.
Bradley - who joined the soap in 2019 - said: "From the moment I met Lisa it was like I’d known her for ages.
"We have this joke on set where I call her ‘Mandy two’, because my real mum is called Mandy.
"Lisa is like a second mum to me, we talk daily and she’s been my rock throughout my whole time on the soap.
"Because she was in 'Emmerdale' years before she returned, she’s taught me the ropes and I’ve learned so much from her.
"I had only done dramas before joining 'Emmerdale' and this is a lot more full on. But she’s really helped me out and given me advice, which has been fantastic."
Bradley and Lisa, 44, teamed up amid the UK's first coronavirus lockdown last year to rehearse their scenes on FaceTime.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: "We had the scripts, but it was so weird because we couldn’t see each other in person to record it until the actual day of filming.
"In the weeks leading up to it, Lisa and I would spend a couple of hours a night on FaceTime going through the scripts.
"It was a really strange way of dealing with it ... but it helped."
Bradley has loved his time on the ITV soap and described the 'Emmerdale' cast as his "second family".
He said: "Being part of the Dingle clan – one of the most famous families in Soapland – is brilliant. 'Emmerdale' is like my second family."
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