James Hooton has played the hapless Sam Dingle in Emmerdale for over 20 years - and in all that time, he wouldn't have been first thought of as a soap hunk. But the 45-year-old actor, who joined the Dales in 1995, has undergone a massive body transformation recently, and took to Twitter to show off his brand new bod.
Sharing a topless photo of himself flexing his muscles, James wrote, 'Session complete! 💪💪🤣#everythingaches' [sic].
Of course, fans went wild for the snap, with many congratulating him on his new look. One wrote, 'Who knew that was hiding under Sam's green anorak !!!' as another added, 'Whoa Sam why are you hiding that hard work!!' and another replied, 'My goodness, you made me spit my brew out James! Looking great!'
Swipe through for all the Emmerdale spoilers you need to know for next week...
Emmerdale spoilers Monday 15th October - Friday 19th October 2018
1 of 23BIG news for Sarah
Sarah Dingle panics when the doctor brings her some BIG news about her transplant. A donor has been found and she must prepare for the life-changing op.
2 of 23emmerdale
After putting on a brave face for her daughter, Debbie breaks down, fearing she will never see Sarah again. When the doctor is unable to give Faith and Charity a definitive answer about Sarah's condition, the two women are overcome with concern.
3 of 23Elsewhere...
On a quest for information on Adam, Victoria breaks into the hauling office and starts tearing through the draws looking for something to giver her a lead.
4 of 23emmerdale
At the Woolpack, Harriet Finch arrives to talk to Chas Dingle about plans for baby Grace's funeral.
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Paddy Kirk joins Chas and Harriet as they begin to go through the plans for the day.
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However, Harriet is left with a sense Paddy Kirk is not being honest about his feelings.
7 of 23At Marlon and Rhona's
April gets excited about going to a school friend's party but hides Leo's invite from Marlon Dingle.
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April's decision to hide the invite leads Rhona Goskirk to fear that Leo is being bullied.
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Jessie Grant is unsettled when Noah Dingle mentions Maya Cavanagh gave him a lift to school, leaving Maya alarmed when Jessie reveals it's breaking the school's safeguarding rules.
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Things escalate when Leanna Cavanagh tells Jessie Noah and Jacob Gallagher had been fighting about Maya, after Jacob pushed Noah over at the bus stop.
11 of 23emmerdale
Maya later receives a warning from Jessie, which leads to more problems at home with David.
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After returning to find the haulage office broken and papers everywhere, Robert spots an empty file named 'Europe trips', and puts two and two together. Victoria later tells Robert she has hired a private investigator to find Adam.
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Victoria is unfazed when Glen the detective advises her that tracking down Adam will be expensive. She soon transfers the first payment to him so he can start looking for Adam. Later, Robert and Matty are shocked when Aaron reveals Adam had contacted him weeks ago and is currently in Budapest.
14 of 23Meanwhile...
Dr Cavanagh makes his feelings for Bernice Blackstock clear, telling her he wants to be with her and hates sneaking around.
15 of 23emmerdale
Bernice then lies and tells Daz Spencer he needs to move back into Kerry Wyatt and Dan Spencer's as Diane Sugden can't cope with him anymore. She even offers to lend him the money to pay the rent
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When Bernice accidently gets her foot grazed by a dart Dr Cavanagh tends to her wounds and they give in to their feelings.
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But, as Daz approaches will the lovebirds be caught out?
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Following the school drama, Leyla Harding tries to convince Maya how much David cares about her and soon after Maya and David kiss and make up. David and Jacob are thrilled when she agrees to move in again but when Leanna finds out she angrily confronts Maya.
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Maya lashes out at her but Jacob acts as peacemaker. Maya then thanks Jacob for defending her against Leanna and as Maya snuggles up to David on the sofa, Jacob is hit with the realisation he has feelings for her!
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Despite Aaron's revelations about Adam in Budapest, Glen tells Victoria he has located Adam in Portugal and asks for £5,000.
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With growing concern and the knowledge that Adam isn't in Budapest, Matty Barton takes the envelope of cash out of Victoria's bag - leaving her empty handed when she goes to meet Glen.
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Victoria panics during her meet up with Glen as she frantically searches her bag for the cash and Glen quickly loses his patience.
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Matty, Robert and Aaron are left frantic when they try and track Victoria down and their worries intensify when they find her phone on the ground. Is Victoria in danger serious danger?
Plenty of his soap star pals were quick to comment on the snap too, as Adam Thomas, who played Adam Barton, wrote, 'Beast !!!!!' and Jamie Shelton, who played Robbie Lawson,' wrote, 'Shredded mate. Looking good!'
Danny Miller, who plays Aaron Dingle, joked, 'What’s this app called bro?? 😜' as James revealed he'd been working out on a climbing wall. Anthony Quinlan, who plays Pete Barton, wrote, 'Yes mate! Looking good 💪🏻.' [sic]
James spoke to Digital Spy earlier this year about how much he still enjoys working on Emmerdale after 23 years, saying, "It's been 23 years off and on I've been involved in the show, and obviously a lot of water goes under that bridge over that time.
"I've gone through many years when I've not enjoyed the job as much as I might have done, and it's been a bit of a renaissance period for me as I'm enjoying the job more so than I ever have done."
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