“It would mean a lot to win an Inside Soap Award!”

It continues to baffle us that lovely Isobel Steele – aka Liv – is just 17 years old. As one of Emmerdale’s brightest young talents, the star talks about her soap experience with the same grace and maturity that we’d expect from an old pro. You’d never know that she was just starting out in her career, and hoping to bag our Best Young Actor prize…

Is it extra-special knowing these awards are voted for by the readers of Inside Soap?

It really is. I don’t think I’ve ever been nominated for an award voted solely by the public before – so to get the recognition from the viewers who are watching the show and investing in the characters would mean a lot.

Were you nervous when you heard that Liv would develop a problem with alcohol?

Yeah, it was quite daunting. I’ve had big storylines with Danny [Miller, who plays Liv’s brother Aaron], and played a part in other people’s stories, but this was the first time the bosses said to me, “This is your plot”. I didn’t have any acting lessons prior to

Emmerdale, so it was like, “God – this is something I need to learn about and know how to act”. Playing drunk is really difficult!

How have you coped with finding fame at a young age?

It’s not like I’m crazyfamous, so it hasn’t really made a huge difference to a lot of things. I wasn’t popular in school, so I tried to keep it very lowkey as I didn’t want to feel like I was attentionseeking by talking about it. But since leaving school, I’ve come out of my shell and I’m really embracing taking pride in my job.

You played your first live music gig recently. How did it go?

It went really well, and I wasn’t expecting it to! The venue was full and I did all my own songs. I thought I was going to struggle speaking to the crowd, as you have to communicate a little bit in between songs, and I’m not that good at doing that – but surprisingly, I was really comfortable. Danny tweeted about it and a few Emmerdale fans ended up coming along. I had a great night!

What would you say has been your proudest moment this year?

It has to be winning Best Young Actor at the British Soap Awards in June – so hopefully I can do the double and get an Inside

Soap Award, too! I really haven’t encouraged people to vote, though, so I should probably put that out there! Daisy Campbell [who plays Emmerdale’s Amelia, and is nominated in the same category] is all over it, posting on social media all the time, getting people to vote. I better do it too, or she’s going to win! [laughs]