Exclusive: Emmerdale star breaks silence on Lewis and Vinny's shock split

Emmerdale star Bradley Riches has spoken about the heartbreaking ending coming up for Lewis Barton's relationship with Vinny Dingle.

The couple split up next week after Lewis decides to cut ties with Vinny following his involvement in the wedding marquee crash.

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Vinny recently decided to come clean about how he was the driver who caused Jimmy King to swerve on the road, causing disaster on Joe Tate and Dawn Fletcher's wedding day.

He's now facing a huge backlash for causing the deaths of Jimmy and Dawn – and with a potential prison sentence looming, Lewis sees no future for the relationship.

Speaking to Digital Spy on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards 2026, Bradley explained: "I think there's so many layers to this. Obviously Lewis has just found love – he's absolutely buzzing about that.

"But at the end of the day, Vinny caused this accident and he's going to have to try and comprehend Vinny doing that but not meaning to do that. And Jimmy passing away, who's his best friend's husband!

"There's a lot of layers, a lot to process – and who knows if he's going to do the right thing? I mean, it's Lewis – he's going to try and do the right thing but hopefully he feels happy in the decisions that he makes."

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Asked whether he's sad about Lewis's first big Emmerdale romance ending like this, Bradley quipped: "It's very me-coded! As Bradley, I've had a lot of romances that don't end well!

"But it's one of those things – with him and Vinny, who knows the way it will end? But I feel like Lewis will be okay as a solo man and hopefully later down the line…

"He was never looking for love. Love just kind of fell into his hands. So hopefully he will carry on, and keep on being him, I guess!"

Bradley also addressed the potential awkwardness ahead for Lewis and his dad Kev. When Vinny confessed the truth to Kev a few weeks ago, he was surprised as Kev urged him to keep it quiet.

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"Who knows if Lewis will ever find out that Kev knew?" Bradley teased. "With Nicola and Kev recently, there's a lot of little white lies. I feel like they're going to add up and who knows if there's going to be an explosion?

"I feel like Kev keeping it to himself may be bettering Lewis, but everything comes out in the end and when it finally comes out, who knows the way that Lewis will react?"

Bradley Johnson, who plays Vinny, is reported to be leaving Emmerdale in the coming weeks.

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

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