Dominic Brunt is best known for portraying Paddy Kirk in Emmerdale, but before finding fame on the ITV soap he had a very different career.

The 52 year old joined the cast of the hit ITV soap back in 1997 and has remained on our screens ever since, taking on a number of hard-hitting storylines over the years.

Most recently, Dominic's character Paddy has been facing a battle with his mental health after his wife, Chas, had an affair with Al Chapman, who was murdered after the adultery came to light.

Here we take a look into Dominic's life before Emmerdale…

Dominic once worked as a welder and he previously revealed he was painfully shy before turning his hand to acting, which helped to become more outgoing.

Speaking to The Sun, the actor said of his former occupation: "I was in a tiny cubicle which was completely solitary, welding chairs thousands of times, weeks on end. I thought I was going mad

"I always had a little bit of a stutter and was a bit insular. I would have to force words out. The isolation of work and not coming across lots of people very often made it worse.”

He eventually decided to leave his welding job and head to performing arts college in a bid to pursue an acting career.

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Dominic revealed his time at college helped him to become "a lot more confident" and his stutter "gradually went away". He then went on to land himself a spot at prestigious acting school the Old Vic in Bristol.

Dominic worked as a cleaner, waiter and welder during his time at acting school, and in 1997 his big break came when he landed the role of Paddy in Emmerdale.

However, Paddy also has another job alongside his soap career, as he produces and directs horror films alongside his wife Joanne. The couple co-founded Mitchell Brunt Films and Dominic has even starred in a number of horror productions himself, including a zombie film called Before Dawn in 2012.

His Emmerdale co-star Mark Charnock also shares his passion for horror and the duo, who are best pals off-screen, host an annual zombie film festival in Leeds.

Mark and Dominic have even spoke about an Emmerdale Halloween special, which could focus on zombies invading the Dales.

Dominic told The Sun in 2019: "I want to do a Halloween special — it’d be great. Everybody could be bitten to death by zombies and we all turn into zombies."

Mark said: "It might be genius. Someone get me a pen and paper. I need to speak to the producer immediately."

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