James Moore, the actor from Emmerdale’s Ryan Stocks, has taken on the difficult task of raising money for charity by climbing the top of Scotland’s tallest mountain in honor of his late father.
Emmerdale star James Moore admitted there were “lots of tears” as he completed the gruelling task of climbing the height of Ben Nevis in memory of his dad. The actor, 33, decided to take on the challenge with a team made up of his friends, family and a soap co-star to raise money for Myeloma UK.
His dad Stephen sadly died aged 69 from blood cancer, multiple myeloma, in June this year. According to the NHS, multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that affects bones and different parts of the body, which cannot usually be cured.
James, who is best known for playing Ryan Stocks in the soap, climbed 1,345 metres in just one day at a climbing centre in Cheltenham. Explaining how the idea came about, James told us: “My dad passed away this year in June of myeloma, the type of blood cancer. It’s not rare but it is uncommon.
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Simply put, I believed there wasn’t enough awareness of it. I donated to the charity Myeloma UK on August, which would have been his 70th birthday. But I believed I could probably do more than that.
He continued, “I’m not a swimmer at all and can’t run very far, but I’ve been really into bouldering and climbing,” so I thought I would do it.
The actor explained what the challenge meant to him by explaining that it “brought us all together” as a result of my family’s participation and friends’ attendance. Along with raising money, it also had a real community component. What we did, in my opinion, would have surprised my father.
James, who was born with ataxic cerebral palsy, described his long-standing, positive relationship with his father Stephen. He has always been very supportive of my career and pushing me to pursue whatever I wanted when I was growing up, whether it was through drama or music, “he said.
He has always been very patient with me and very helpful with issues like disability. removing obstacles and encouraging me to act when I was uncertain.
He had time for everyone, the soap star continued, “That’s it. He had time for everyone.” He had a very kind heart. He was very calming and comforting to be around.
However, James’ challenge didn’t go off without a hit because the climbing team had a power outage when they arrived. He acknowledged that a lamp was placed on a smaller climbing wall before the team could climb the larger walls to get around it.
The team, which also included James’ Emmerdale co-star Ash Palmisciano, who plays Matty Barton, worked out they needed to do 100 climbs of the wall and they managed it in an impressive three and a half hours. James was also battling an injury, having pulled the muscle in his hip just a week before.
He made the final climb, however, and persevered and was honored. James admitted that there were many tears.
I became a little emotional. Thinking about dad and the family both felt something, though. But it was also very rewarding. Being able to handle the emotional side of it was probably the biggest challenge.
James and his wife Sophie are gearing up to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, having tied the knot in a stunning Autumn wedding last November. It has come as a poignant time though, as the couple reflected on James’ dad being there for their big day.
James explained how difficult their first year of marriage has been, explaining that my dad’s passing has made things difficult. The married life itself has been wonderful, Sophie added. He is merely my closest companion. It’s just my best friend and I going through life.
She has been incredibly supportive of everything, James said. giving me constant support and assistance. She is incredible. He teased “I’ve done something, but I can’t tell you what it is right now,” and he also has a secret plan for Sophie on their first wedding anniversary.
The actor said that having 20 minutes of free time with himself and Sophie in a campervan was his favorite memory from their big day. A drive-around was held. Everyone wanted to celebrate with you with you for about 20 minutes, which was really lovely because the day was so busy.
You and your new spouse actually don’t spend a lot of time together. Sophie said seeing James’ parents, brothers, and sisters with her own brother and mother next to them was her favorite moment as she walked down the aisle.
With everything that has happened this year, she said, “That was just such a beautiful day with so much happiness.” James continued, “I’m grateful that I spent that day with his father.”
He also acknowledged that watching his real family and his on-screen family on stage together for the first time was “surreal.” When you watch Emmerdale co-stars dancing with friends they know from a completely different country, you feel like a kind of world-colliding.
The couple has set their sights on Disney World despite having a challenging year ahead of them. They are also working on their lives together because they are preparing to purchase a home and expecting children in the upcoming year.
Sophie shared as James quipped, “I don’t know when but it is coming. That’s part of the plan, wedding, house, and kids.”
James teased that he will be “busy” next year, but he hasn’t been kept quiet about his upcoming Emmerdale plots. When questioned if he planned to leave anytime soon, he responded with a defiant “no.” “I’m still really enjoying it and happy to be there,” he continued. What a crazy thing it has been almost eight years.
Source: Mirror
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