My heart is still aching for Bear Wolf, following Joshua Richards’ performance in a deeply well written, superbly researched, and cinematic quality Emmerdale episode highlighting the horrors of modern slavery, a problem prominent and hidden in plain sight in the UK.

As ever, Emmerdale – working with The Salvation Army – is at the forefront of tackling serious issues.

And in a standalone episode showing the 100 day journey of Bear since his disappearance from the village amid depression, we discovered wretched Celia Daniels’ (Jaye Griffiths) involvement along with Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) who is tasked with keeping the hidden operation going.

We all watched with horror as Bear was taken in, groomed, put to work, injured, gaslit and abused by what he thinks is the only life he can lead while feeling lost, lonely and useless.

It’s just the beginning, Joshua warned me when we caught up for a chat for Metro.

‘I think there’s a lot more to come,’ he confirmed. ‘The seedy underbelly of this exploitative business will be peeled back for all to see.

‘It will be revealed in all of its vileness. I think it’s important that we’re not afraid to show these things and, as a continuing drama, I think we’re fortunate that we can highlight these things so that the public can be made aware.

‘It will be harrowing, but of course there’s always light at the end of every tunnel.’

The seasoned actor found it a privilege to be able to tackle such a meaty and important story, he told me, but admitted that he hadn’t yet seen the final cut of the episode and won’t watch until today, when it has just gone out.

‘I think what was lovely about it, the director Tim O’Mara, who I first worked with when I came into the series, it was nice to be reacquainted and work with him again.

‘What’s lovely about working with Tim is he has a lot of experience in film as well as television. To work with somebody who’s predominantly a film director was very helpful.

‘I haven’t actually seen the episode myself yet but I do understand it’s quite filmic. It was great fun to do because he’s a lovely director. I was very fortunate with a great script and also the joy of working with the wonderful Joe Absolom, who’s such a wonderful actor.’

It’s a totally different side to Bear that we have seen and, tragically, older men are one of the most commonly targeted demographics of slavery abusers.

Telling me that he has personal experience of male depression with a friend, Joshua pondered what it’s been like getting into this kind of headspace to play out a very different from the norm storyline – and one that hits home hard.

‘It was quite a major thing. The enormity of it, because of the subject matter is quite poignant. I was quite fortunate in that we liaised with the Salvation Army and I was lucky enough to talk to somebody who’d actually experienced modern day slavery first hand, somebody who was actually an older gentleman with a PhD who had been manipulated and coerced by two individuals who’d exploited him horribly.

‘I was amazed that this was someone who wasn’t gullible and was very intelligent and forthright who was duped. I was struck by his integrity and his dignity. That gave me a great latch on to the subject, because I thought if it could happen to this guy it could happen quite easily to an older man who’s got somewhat depressed and not feeling valued, somebody who has basically lost the plot.

‘It’s easy to be manipulated. It was quite poignant really, but as an actor of course it was a great thing to do. It was a lovely challenge. I treat anything like this, when it’s got meat on it, I relish it with joy.’

Praising Emmerdale for tackling the subject matter, he continued: ‘It’s very important that soaps cover this because they’ve got the time to do it justice.

‘I’m very fortunate because I’ve had coming up for seven years now of playing Bear and playing him in all sorts of different situations and this is the first time when we’ve gone into something really, really dark.

‘What other television job can you do where you can play a character for seven years and still do something surprising?

‘I won’t go into any great detail but I do have first hand experience of somebody who has experienced older life depression. A lot of people as they get older, maybe especially strong men who suddenly can’t do what they used to do with ease or alacrity, they may regard themselves as being somewhat redundant and surplus to use any more.

‘If you’re a big strong man who’s used to having physicality so easily at your fingertips and it’s not there any more, you can get a bit lost because you think, my God what use am I any more?

‘If I can’t do the things I did as a big strong man I become a little old man. I think that can lead to insecurity and maybe depression. I have seen it first hand and it always is sad to watch. It’s the gradual demise of us all, I suppose.’