Jurell Carter was left "devastated" when he had to give up a dream football scholarship because he couldn’t afford it.
The ‘Emmerdale’ actor – who plays Nate Robinson – had set his sights on becoming a professional footballer and he thought his dream was getting closer when he was offered a scholarship in the US, but he didn’t have the funds to go.
He said: "It was heartbreaking. I had loved football from the age of three.
"When I got offered the scholarship to the University of South Carolina Aiken it was amazing but I couldn’t find the funds to pay for the rest of it so I couldn’t go.
"What I was offered would have covered 65 per cent of the costs but I would still have had to find the other 35 per cent, which was beyond my means.
"I was so devastated. It was something I loved so passionately, for it then not to go through… it was heartbreaking."
However, Jurell turned his disappointment into a determination to succeed in acting.
He said: "Losing out on the football career made me determined to succeed in the acting. I believe that no matter where you come from, if you can see something, visualise it and have the passion then you can achieve it."
Jurell was thrown in at the deep end in the Dales after landing the role of Nate, with his character embarking on an affair with Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb), whose husband Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) turned out to be his dad.
And the actor admits shooting sex scenes with Natalie was "a bit overwhelming, and he shed a stone and a half before getting his kit off on the ITV soap.
He added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "The sex scenes have been a bit overwhelming really.
"I wanted to look good and feel good. I think everyone has a perfect idea of how they would like their body to be. So when I first got the role I did cut down on my weight and I lost a stone and a half.
"I put it back on over Christmas! I was about 16 stone and went back to 14.5 stone."
Earlier this month, ‘Emmerdale’ introduced Carryl Thomas as Nate Robinson’s mum Cara.
In a shocking twist, Cara accidentally ran over Moira when the character stumbled drunkenly into the road and got hit by her car.
Carryl – who previously appeared on the likes of ‘Family Affairs’, ‘Holby City’ and ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ – took to Instagram to thank fans for their messages following her debut.
She wrote: "Cara finally arrived! #debut @emmerdale Thank you for all the messages. Keep watching #itv #cararobinson #emmerdale (sic)"
Jurell Carter lost out on football career
