Vinny and Kammy on Emmerdale on August 5, 2025 / ITV
Emmerdale star Bradley Johnson has admitted that he was shocked when producers told him that his character Vinny would explore his sexuality in a new storyline.
In April Vinny got engaged to girlfriend Gabby (Rosie Bentham) and their wedding is fast approaching, but in curveball scenes earlier this summer Vinny made a pass at his friend Kammy (Shebz Miah).
The incident has prompted Vinny to start questioning whether he is fully straight – and in next week’s episodes he meets up with a guy called Mike (Macaulay Cooper) whom he has been chatting to online.
Although initially seeming like an affable new friend, Mike soon turns sinister – and as a result Vinny is left savagely beaten in his home.
“Mike comes in and gives this whole back story and this performance about how his wife kicked him out and all this sort of stuff,” explained Johnson, who has now been on the soap for more than six years.
“Vinny really feels for him, and all of a sudden we see this sort of shift in [Mike’s] body language and his attitude. He starts saying some really horrible, hurtful stuff to Vinny, and Vinny’s like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’
“He beats Vinny up. It’s a horrendous beating and Vinny’s on the floor… Mike demands that he send him £10K or else he’ll expose his secret to Gabby. And what I think is so cruel that Mike’s done, he’s secretly recorded Vinny on every meeting.
“When Vinny’s on the floor, scared, vulnerable, he plays this recording back to him, and we just see Vinny’s world completely collapse.”
Prior to Vinny’s pass at Kammy there had been no suggestion that he had any interest in guys but a chat with producers Sophie Roper and Laura Shaw helped Johnson to understand why the story made sense.
“When I first got told it was a complete shock to me, as I had no idea that was the avenue they were gonna go down with Vinny,” he added.
“But once Sophie and Laura told me the storyline, it was quite exciting.
“For Vinny, and everything he’s been through in the past with Liv, I think it’s a really exciting story to tell of a young lad who’s confused, really.”
Emmerdale continues weekdays from 7am on ITVX and at 7.30pm on ITV1.
