Yahoo News Former Emmerdale star clarifies future of acting career
Former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher has reflected on his acting career after taking a break to focus on farming.
The actor, known for playing the role of Andy Sugden on the ITV soap between 1996 and 2016, and his wife Elizabeth Marsland live on a farm in England's Peak District with their children, as shown in BBC docuseries Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure and ITV's Fletcher's Family Farm.
After recently appearing in Father Brown, Fletcher reassured fans he's still very much acting, but living on a farm with his loved ones has given him a new sense of purpose.
Related: Former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher teases possible return to soap
"People ask if I've stopped acting. No, that's still my job, but moving here has given me a sense of purpose that had been missing," he told The Times.
"There was a poignant moment when I was on the front row at the Olivier awards, after I'd been in Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre in London, sitting with all these amazing people," he recalled, describing the moment "the culmination of all the acting dreams I'd had as a kid".
"Next morning I was back up here shovelling shit. But as I watched the clouds shoot across that lovely Peak District sky, I knew I'd found my home," he said.
Related: Former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher weighs in on Moira's crisis
Fletcher also dismissed the idea that being a soap star necessarily comes with leading a "glamorous life", explaining he and his wife managed to create a grounded reality for themselves.
"Being on a show like Emmerdale means that people have preconceived ideas about what you’re like. You're a celeb; you live this amazingly glamorous life. For Liz, I was just the same Kelvin she'd always known," he said.
"We still knew the same people. There was a grounded reality that existed outside of Emmerdale, which immediately made me feel comfortable with her."
Following his Emmerdale exit, Fletcher took part in the 2019 season of Strictly Come Dancing, which he won with pro partner Oti Mabuse.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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