Lewis Bridgeman (born 2006 or 2007) is an English actor. At age 14, he joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

and performed in productions including ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'', ''

Posh Posh is today an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 ...

'' and '' Arcadia''. In 2024, he joined the cast of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' as Barney Mitchell. As well as acting, Bridgeman was accepted into Mensa at the age of 12.

Life and career

Bridgeman was born in

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

, Essex, where he attended

Plume School Plume Academy is a secondary school with academy status located in the town of Maldon, Essex, England. The school is split over two separate campuses. Mill Road houses Years 7 and 8, Fambridge Road Years 9, 10 and 11 and the Sixth Form. Histo ...

. Since the age of six, he has had aspirations to become either a drama teacher or an actor. At

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

level, he achieved four

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

9s, two grade 8s, two grade 7s and one grade 6. These exams included studying drama, which he also studied for his

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

. He also attended the Chelmsford Drama Centre at weekends. He is

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

and

dyspraxic Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia, or simply dyspraxia (from Ancient Greek ''praxis'' 'activity'), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impair ...

, which meant he struggled socially at school. His mother feared he would have a bad experience at Plume; however, she said they were "amazing" for him. Aged 12, he took

Mensa International Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa ...

's acceptance test and passed, meaning his IQ is above 132 and that he is in the top 2% of the world's population. His mother credited Mensa with instilling a confidence in him. In 2021, aged 14, Bridgeman joined the

and is set to be a member until he is 26. He has appeared in various theatre productions including ''

'', ''

Goodnight Mister Tom ''Goodnight Mister Tom'' is a children's novel by English author Michelle Magorian, published by Kestrel in 1981. Harper & Row published an American edition the same year. Set during World War II, it features a boy abused at home in London wh ...

'' and '' Arcadia''. Despite struggling in social situations due to his autism, he was seen to be confident whilst performing. In 2022, he read letters from radio archives for ''Forecast22'', a digital artwork and interactive website celebrating the centenary of the first UK public radio broadcasts. In 2024, he was cast in the

soap opera ''

''. He was cast as Barney Mitchell, a member of the established

Mitchell family The Mitchell family is a fictional family in the UK soap opera ''EastEnders''. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil ( Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell ( Ross Kemp) bought the local garage, the Arches. Their siste ...

. Bridgeman described his character as "introverted", contrasting the rest of the family, and was looking forward to developing the character. During his first few weeks of filming, he was also sitting his A-level exams, which he passed.

Filmography

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgeman, Lewis 2000s births 21st-century English male actors Autistic actors English actors with disabilities English male child actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from Essex People from Maldon, Essex Mensans People with developmental coordination disorder Living people