Last year Emmerdale’s rising star Fred Kettle was studying drama at college. Now as the soap’s troubled youngster Dylan Penders, he’s at the heart its biggest storylines
Less than a year ago, Emmerdale’s rising star Fred Kettle was studying drama at college. Now as the soap’s troubled youngster Dylan Penders, he is at the heart of some of its biggest storylines. Indeed last week his character was left in a state of disbelief when found not guilty of perverting the course of justice over the murder of Ray Walters, after he helped move the dead body. Paddy Dingle, who has given homeless Dylan a place to stay, was handed a 12-month suspended sentence after the jury felt he should have known better. And Bear, who murdered Ray, was found not guilty too on the grounds he had acted in self-defence.
Nobody is more grateful to be part of the high-profile plot than Fred, 19, who lives in Bradford with his parents and younger sister. He tells the Mirror: “I am still buzzing. It feels surreal and I can’t believe that less than a year ago I was at college. Now I am here on Emmerdale playing Dylan. It’s mad and I am loving being in the soap.”
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What makes his rise to fame even more special, however, is that at the age of nine, Fred – who initially joined Emmerdale in February 2025 whilst finishing his college course – was told he had dyslexia. His mum had pushed for a test, suspecting he had the learning difficulty.
School life was tough, he admits. “Nothing gelled for me,” he explains. “I liked reading but I was terrible at it. I had to read everything five times and go very slowly. I still do. School wasn’t for me and I couldn’t handle the environment. Now in hindsight, I probably came across as disrespectful in class.”
Recalling the moment he got an official diagnosis, he continues: “I was in year five at primary school and my mum kept asking the teachers if I could take a test. Thankfully, we managed to get one and it came back that I was. But it was still hard at school and I didn’t try.”
But Fred stresses he didn’t and still does not want any sympathy. “I never ever wanted to pull the ‘I am dyslexic’ card at school though,” he says. “I didn’t want it to define me and I still don’t.”
Though school was tough, a chance opportunity to take part in a youth acting course with the Royal Shakespeare Company changed his life. Fred says: “We went on a coach with school. I’d already started doing a few odd school plays and I loved it. I realised there and then after doing the youth course, I wanted to be an actor. Acting was a new channel for me and it was a way of expressing myself too. I realised I liked portraying different characters and how other people think.”
The trip spurred Fred on to take drama classes seriously and he threw himself into any shows his school put on. Because of his dyslexia, he took a different approach to tackling scripts. He says: “I read the scripts as if someone is saying it. In doing so, I have found scripts so much easier. But I have also been determined to become an actor.”
Fred studied an extended diploma in drama at Wakefield’s Capa College and soon landed parts in the Maxine Peake short film, Poppy Day, the BBC’s Sherwood and as a voiceover in Netflix’s smash hit Adolescence. “I did some voiceovers to match what the extras were saying,” he says. “It was so cool and at the time, I didn’t know how massive it was going to be. Owen (Cooper) is a brilliant actor.”
It was at that moment Emmerdale came calling. Fred landed the role of Dylan, a homeless child who met Marlon Dingle’s daughter, Amelia, on the streets when she ran away from home.
Fred joined the soap last February to play a central part in April going missing. He then left in March but after impressing soap bosses, the talented teen returned permanently in May, two days after leaving college. Last July Fred was nominated for an Inside Soap Award in the category of Best Young Performer.
Being part of the gritty modern slavery storyline culminating in last week’s court case has been amazing, says Fred. But he teases it’s going to be far from easy for his character, despite being found not guilty.
“Dylan feels all over the place now,” he says. “He wanted everyone to be found not guilty and the last person he thought would be sent down was Paddy. Bear was the one who did it but it was Dylan’s choice to say: ‘no we can’t go to the police’. He now feels so guilty that Paddy got found guilty.”
Fred praises some of Emmerdale’s biggest legends who have made him feel so welcome. “Mark Charnock (who plays Marlon) was such a mentor to me at the start,” he says. “He gave me lots of positive advice and he’s been a very good role model.”
And Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy, is like a second mum, adds Fred. “She is such a motherly person,” he says. “She is very caring and always there for me. Dom Brunt (who plays Paddy) is also good fun to work with. We get on really well.”
He feels very fortunate his own life is so different to that of his character. “I can’t thank my parents enough for everything they’ve done,” he adds. “I wouldn’t be here on Emmerdale without their incredible support. My life is obviously also very different.
“I am very grateful. Dylan is weird, he doesn’t have much confidence and he is trying his best to forget about his past life on his streets. It’s been great to work alongside Amelia (Flanagan) who plays April too. She is like a sister to me.”
Away from Emmerdale, Fred is happily dating his girlfriend of two years. “I’ve got a lovely partner,” he confides. “We met at college as she was doing a dance course. I’ve also got a brilliant group of friends from all walks of life and me being on TV has not changed anything. We are just cracking on and we really enjoy going on wild camping and fishing trips.”
Of the future, Fred says he wants to see where life takes him. He says: “I love it at Emmerdale and I am just going with the flow. I’m not sure what is going to happen next with Dylan but hopefully it’s a new chapter now he has been found not guilty. I’d like to see him and April stay together too.” And he has a message for any aspiring young actors. He says: “If you want it that bad, you will get it. If you believe in yourself, you really will.”
*Emmerdale airs every weekday on ITV1 at 8pm. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
