Bradley Riches has praised his Celebrity Big Brother co-star Sharon Osbourne's strength following the death of her husband Ozzy as he opened up on their friendship.

The Emmerdale star, 24, and TV personality, 73, struck up a friendship during their time together in the famous house in 2024.

Since the show ended, the pair have remained good friends and reunited in December for brunch with Sharon's daughter, Kelly.

The outing was five months after the death of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy, with Bradley remarking he was in awe of the 'amazing' pair and how they've remained strong amid their grief. 

Bradley told The Daily Mail: 'They're such amazing people - what they've been through. 

'When you look at Sharon and Kelly, you look at them as very strong women - it is empowering, and I really look up to them. I have so much love and time for them.'

On how the reunion came about, Bradley revealed: 'We were meaning to meet up for a while and then they lost Ozzy, so obviously it was a hard time for them.

'At Christmas, we managed to get a date in, I was thinking like McDonald's... Anyways, they were like, "We will meet you at the Claridge's hotel. I was like, "Ok, these people are boujee."

'But it was really nice, and then Sharon got the bill as well, which made it 10 times better!' 

Bradley will enjoy another reunion with Sharon when she attends his star-studded wedding to partner Scott Johnston.

The pair got engaged in 2024 and will walk down the aisle later this month.  

Revealing which celebs have made the guest list, Bradley said: 'So obviously we've got my new friends from Emmerdale, a couple of them are coming. 

'Heartstopper, some of them. The Big Brother lot, I think all of the Big Brother lot are actually coming.

'Like David [Potts], Colston [Smith], Nikita [Kuzmin], Sharon, Levi [Roots], ZeZe [Millz], Marisha [Wallace], Ekin-Su [Culculoglu], and other people I've met along the way, like Arlene Phillips, Tasha [Ghouri] from Love Island.

'Yeah, just lots of people I've met through the industry and ones I've shared big moments in my career with. It's going to be really nice.'

He continued: 'We were kind of like, obviously we will invite our loved ones and all our friends, and then I looked at the list and went, "Oh my God, I've actually got quite a lot of famous friends, I didn't realise".'

'I was like, "Maybe I am embedded in the industry slowly",' he joked. 

As well as wedding planning, Bradley has been hard at work on his own book titled Autistically Me: How to Understand and Celebrate Our Unique Minds, which is out on June 9.

The actor, who plays the first-ever neurodivergent character in Emmerdale, shares his inspiring personal story along with practical, real-life guidance on thriving with the condition.

He was diagnosed with autism at nine and was non-verbal until he was 10.

The actor explained: 'It's kind of like my life, so I've never said that my experiences and what my mechanisms are and here's how you can use them. 

'You know the help you can get from them as well, it is about self-acceptance at the end of the day. Understanding your brain.'

The book also explores getting an autism diagnosis and why it matters and, how autism can present differently across genders. 

On the pressure he felt to portray the first character with autism on Emmerdale, Bradley shared: 'It was kind of kind of scary.

'When you're advocating and your representing the community you do put extra pressure on yourself.

'But also I was excited and relieved that there was an autistic role and if you have a lived experience you can tap into things that they've experienced. 

'I was nervous and excited but honoured to do that.'

Autistically Me: How to Understand and Celebrate Our Unique Minds is available for purchase from June 9.