A talented teen has landed his first TV role in a hard-hitting soap storyline just months after joining an acting agency run by a former The Apprentice and Shameless star.
Fourteen-year-old Harley Hamilton was discovered by Sarah Byrne Acting Academy, based in his home town of Oldham, and is thrilled to have landed a role in Emmerdale - his family’s favourite show.
Harley made his debut in Tuesday night’s episode of the ITV soap (October 26) as Oscar, the son of Gail Loman, played by Rachael Gill-Davis, and Ryan Stocks, played by James Moore.
Viewers learned that the couple had a baby together 13 years ago and, being young and unable to care for the baby themselves, he was adopted after he was born.
Recently Gail was contacted by Oscar’s adoptive mum Sophie, played by former EastEnders star Martha Cope, because he is seriously ill after being diagnosed with the rare blood disorder aplastic anaemia and needs stem cell treatment.
This is another major success for the Sarah Byrne Acting Academy after having talent starring in the Netflix thriller anthology Black Mirror and the Amazon Prime series The Power, starring Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress Toni Collette earlier this year.
Drama teacher Sarah, who played Meena Karib in the gritty Manchester drama Shameless and Bella in the Channel Four soap Hollyoaks and was a candidate on the 2018 series of The Apprentice, praised: “Harley is very natural, down-to-earth and very real. He’s well suited to his character.
“As soon as I saw him I knew he was talented. He has natural ability and his confidence has grown while he’s been on set.”
Sarah, 34, from Lees, who set up the academy in 2016 to act as a role model to her young daughter Sadie, added: “This is another success story for Oldham. I’m proud that what I set out to do is happening and this is the reason why I do what I do.”
Academy talent scout Sue Burns, 60, from Prestwich, said: “I chaperone him on set and everybody loves working with him. I’m so proud of him.
“He has taken to it like a duck to water. You wouldn’t know that this was his first role.”
Harley, from Moorside, started classes at the academy in January and joined the SBM Agency, which provides representation for young actors and adults in and around the north west for film and TV, in June.
Sarah added: “The other kids have been so supportive and his family are big Emmerdale fans who watch the show constantly. This is a dream come true for them.”
Based at Oldham Hulme Grammar School and the Manchester Maccabi Community and Sports Club in Prestwich, the academy for budding talent aged four to 25 has students from as far as the Isle of Man and the north east, as well as from across Greater Manchester.
Emmerdale casting assistant Ezra Tren-Humphries regularly presents workshops for students around working in TV and long-running dramas.
Nine-year-old Lillie-Mae Law, from Oldham, played the haunting role of Laura Simons in the chilling drama Demon 79 in the latest season of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror.
And Miranda Malunga, also nine and from Oldham, played Young Allie in the science fiction series The Power based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel. Last year her older sister Eavan Malunga, 14, played Amaka in the Manchester-based Dave sitcom Holier Than Thou.
