Joseph-Warren Plant (born 12 April 2002) is an English actor, best known for portraying the role of

Jacob Gallagher Jacob Gallagher may refer to: * Jacob Gallagher (Emmerdale) * Jacob Gallagher (writer) {{hndis, Gallagher, Jacob ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

''. He has portrayed the role of Jacob since 2010 and has been nominated for a

British Soap Award The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV (TV network), ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal a ...

in the Best Young Performance category three times, in 2014, 2019 and 2021. He was also a contestant on the thirteenth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' in 2021.

Early life

Plant was born in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on 12 April 2002 to mother Steph Plant. His father is Warren Plant. He was raised in

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,115. There is evidence of human habitatio ...

with his parents. Plant had been enrolled in the Scream Theatre School in Blackpool since he was four years old.

Career

''Emmerdale''

In August 2010, aged 8, Plant joined the cast of ''

'' as

Jacob Gallagher Jacob Gallagher may refer to: * Jacob Gallagher (Emmerdale) * Jacob Gallagher (writer) {{hndis, Gallagher, Jacob ...

. The character was introduced along with his parents

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

(

Andrew Langtree Andrew Langtree is a British stage and screen actor known for his roles in Coronation Street, Cutting It and Emmerdale. In 1998, Langtree graduated amongst the first alumni of Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). ...

) and

Alicia Gallagher Alicia Metcalfe (also Harding and Gallagher) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Natalie Anderson. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 11 August 2010. Alicia was int ...

(

Natalie Anderson Natalie Jane Anderson (born 24 October 1981) is an English actress, singer and television presenter. She is known for her roles as Stella Davenport in the medical drama ''The Royal'' from 2005 to 2008 and Alicia Metcalfe in the ITV soap oper ...

). During his time on the soap Jacob's storylines have included finding out he was adopted and that he is the biological son of

Leyla Harding Leyla Harding (also Cavanagh) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Roxy Shahidi. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 August 2008 and was introduced by series producer, Anita Turner. The ...

(

Roxy Shahidi Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi (; born 14 March 1983) is an English actress and screenwriter. She is known for portraying from 2008 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2025 the role of Leyla Harding in ITV (TV channel), ITV soap ''Emmerdale''. In 2024, she was a ...

) and being groomed by Maya Stepney (

Louisa Clein Louisa Clein (born 6 July 1979) is a British actress, known for portraying the role of Maya Stepney in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Life and career Clein was born in Poole, Dorset to Jewish parents, Peter and Channa Clein (née Salomon ...

). Plant was nominated three times for Best Young Actor at

The British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal and glass and hav ...

in 2014, 2019 and 2021. Plant was discovered at Scream Theatre School in Blackpool by the Actors Agency division of Scream Management, which is now based at

MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in City of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by The Peel Group, Peel Media; its principal tenants are Mass media, ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

Afterwards, Plant was recruited by Scream Management and acted on his behalf as his agent and secured him the role in ''Emmerdale''. Plant portrayed the role of Harri Hart in the US action film ''

Broken Hearts ''Broken Hearts'' is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts styled "An entirely original fairy play". It opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 9 December 1875, running for three months, and toured the provinces in 1876. It w ...

''. In 2020, it was announced that Plant would be taking a six-month break from appearing in the show due to competing in ''

''.

''Dancing on Ice'' and other work

In 2021, Plant was a contestant on the British show ''

'' where he was partnered with Vanessa Bauer. Aged 18 at the time of competing, Plant is the youngest contestant to ever participate in the show. In February 2021, Plant and Bauer had to leave the show early due to both skaters testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Plant had not experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, however, after receiving a positive test, he had to withdraw from the series, claiming that he was "gutted". Even after completing the required isolation period in a hotel,

bosses at ''Dancing on Ice'' refused to let Plant and Bauer participate in the show again, with a spokesperson at ITV claiming that there was a "fear" that letting Plant skate and participate in the show again "may upset the apple cart". An official statement from ITV thanked Plant and Bauer for "all their dedication and beautiful performances". In 2018, Plant appeared as a contestant on ''Soap Hand of Dance with Arran Crascall'', a series by YouTuber Arran Crascall where soap stars from the United Kingdom compete to show off their dancing skills. To celebrate 50 years of ''Emmerdale'' being broadcast, he participated in a special of ''

Ninja Warrior UK ''Ninja Warrior UK'' (also known as ''Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory'') is a British physical obstacle assault course game show, created for ITV (TV network), ITV that ran from 2015 to 2022. The show is based upon the format of the Japanese ga ...

'' in 2022. Plant frequently participates in charity football matches in order to raise awareness of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and Down’s Syndrome.

Performances

Personal life

Plant attended

Baines School Baines School is a secondary school in Poulton-Le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. It was founded through the will of James Baines in 1717 and is a former grammar school. It was one of three schools set up in Baines' will, the others being at Marto ...

in Poulton-Le-Fylde. He was in a relationship with Nicole Hadlow for three years, however, in 2021 just prior to his appearance on ''Dancing on Ice'', the couple decided to separate, citing relationship issues between Plant and Hadlow as a result of his close relationship and partnership with his ''Dancing on Ice'' partner Vanessa Bauer.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plant, Joe-Warren 2002 births English male actors English male television actors Male actors from Blackpool English male child actors Living people People from Poulton-le-Fylde