Six months after leaving Emmerdale, former cast member Jurell Carter is at the centre of a gripping soap mystery that has everyone talking.

Fans were shocked last month as the ITV show revealed that Jurell’s character Nate Robinson had been killed in sinister circumstances.

The truth was shared with viewers as Amy Barton went plunging into an icy lake as part of the soap’s limo crash storyline. While fighting to reach the surface again, Amy was horrified to spot that Nate’s body had been dumped in the water.

In real life, Jurell is already busy beyond Emmerdale as he’s currently treading the boards in the UK tour of Boys from the Blackstuff, a powerful new stage adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s classic 1982 TV series.

Jurell is portraying the role of Loggo in the play, which tells the story of five working class men who are struggling with no jobs and no money in ’80s Liverpool.

Digital Spy recently caught up with Jurell for his first exclusive chat about the new project and the bombshell news of Nate’s death.

Hi Jurell – how did this new role come about?

“Since I left Emmerdale, my agent has been putting me forward for a lot of things. A lot of tapes are coming my way, mainly for TV and film. When Boys from the Blackstuff came in, I’d never heard about the play before so I had a little read of it. Afterwards, I told my agent that I really loved it.

“I used to train at LIPA [Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts], so I love the city of Liverpool. I sent over a tape for it and was then invited to a recall in London.

“That went amazingly – everyone was really nice and I felt like I’d done my best. Not too long after, I heard I’d been offered the role.”

Was theatre something you had your eye on when you left Emmerdale?

“I try not to plan every single thing – I like to go with the flow a little bit! As long as I’m doing my best and giving my all, I feel like everything will work out how it’s meant to.

“I hadn’t really done theatre since LIPA, so I’ve always wanted to do it. I’m not going to lie – I was slightly fearful of it, because it’s such a beast, but it’s so beautiful at the same time. Having that buzz of a live audience, you can’t beat it. So it worked out perfectly and I’m glad that I’ve done it.”

How would you describe Boys from the Blackstuff?

“It’s a hard-hitting drama with real, relatable people who are dealing with very relevant subject matters. When I say that, I mean issues that are similar to the ones we’re dealing with in this country right now – unemployment, the cost of living crisis and working people struggling.

“So the play explores how these characters navigate through life, with the massive obstacles that they’re facing: having families, trying to be the breadwinners and trying to just survive, basically.”

How does your character Loggo fit in?

“He has a happy-go-lucky vibe about him. He’s a hard-working man but he’s a single man. He hasn’t got any responsibilities like the other four men in the story have, so he’s a bit like a free bird.

“Loggo is a cheeky-chappie, but he doesn’t take any rubbish. He knows when they need to stand up and when they need to fight. But he does bring a light relief and some cheekiness to the play. Because it is such a hard-hitting and very dramatic play, it’s nice to have that light relief.

“He’s also very loyal. I feel that’s part of the culture in Liverpool – there’s a sense of unity and Loggo maintains that alongside the other characters.”

Have you been working on your Scouse accent?

“That was another thing that made me excited to do this project, because I do love the accent. I spent three years in Liverpool when I was at LIPA, so I was around the accent a lot then.

“When we all met on the first day to start working together on the play, people mentioned that I’m not a Scouser and they asked if I’d be doing the accent on stage.

“I said to the guys that I would be, but I asked: ‘If there’s anything that doesn’t sound right, please let me know because for me it’s constructive. I’d rather know, and have brutal honesty, rather than people sugarcoating or not saying anything because they feel awkward’.”

How have the tour dates been going so far?

“It’s been amazing. I’m not going to lie – it’s been tough adjusting to the schedules but also really enjoyable. All of the cast are really down to earth, nice and approachable. We just all get along and it’s a good vibe. It’s also been nice to visit the different cities and seeing how different audiences react to certain things.

“In this show, if you’re not in a scene, then you’re helping to move a scene! (Laughs.) Coming from TV and film, that’s almost a foreign thing in terms of helping to change and transition into different scenes. So I’m glad that I’m doing that and learning while I’m doing it.”

Have your Emmerdale fanbase been coming to meet you at the stage door?

“They have and that’s a beautiful thing. Because soaps are so popular in this country, you also get a following when you start doing other things. There have been fans meeting me at the stage door, being really nice and taking pictures, and I’ve been signing stuff for them too. They’ve been asking me about Nate as well!”

Will any of your Emmerdale friends come to see the play?

“Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle, has managed to come already. A lot of my cast mates are booking their tickets and coming to the later shows. I think I might have some colleagues coming to see it in Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds. A lot of them are coming to support me, which is really nice.”

Are you still glad that you made the decision to leave Emmerdale?

“Sometimes in your gut, you just have that feeling where you think: ‘It’s time now’. You might love your current situation or your current job, but sometimes you just know when it’s time for the next chapter.

“Even now, one of the fans asked me recently: ‘Are you missing it?’ I said: ‘I actually do. I do miss it’. I’ll always love the people there and I’ll always love the place because it felt like home. But at the same time, I know I made the right decision because I’m growing and I’m learning.

“That was my main aim in terms of leaving Emmerdale. As much as I still was learning on Emmerdale, I felt like I had to go and spread my wings somewhere else and test myself even more. So I’m glad I made the decision.”

As an actor, you don’t know how quickly you’ll get a new role. Was that daunting when you left?

“It was daunting, I can’t lie. Working on a show like Emmerdale obviously gives you that massive stability, which is hard to come by as an actor.

“But I grew up staying positive. I come from a hard-working and positive family. They’ve always supported me. They believe in me, so it’s made me believe in myself as well.

“So I had that positivity of: ‘It’s going to be okay, Jurell. The job’s going to come when it comes, and you’re going to make it work’. To some people, that might seem a bit too sure of yourself. But I feel like you do need to have that belief in this industry, because it can be tough.”

When your Emmerdale exit aired last year and Nate didn’t get a proper goodbye scene, there was a lot of speculation that something sinister was afoot! Were you aware of all the fan theories?

“Basically, I was told a little while beforehand about the plan for Nate. I had a meeting with Sophie Roper, one of the producers at Emmerdale, and she told me the storylines that would happen for my exit. It might sound cheesy, but I had goosebumps in the meeting.

“So I knew about it a while ago. Ever since I heard, I’ve been excited to see it play out. As the audience still doesn’t know exactly how it’ll go from here, I’m excited for them to see it now.

“This is just the start of the unravelling. Amy has just passed away on the show and she knew that it was Nate down there in the lake. So obviously this is just the start of the audience getting to know what happened. I’m really excited for them to find out!”

How do you feel about this storyline twist closing the door on a future return?

“I spoke to some of my colleagues – including Eden, who I’m close to. I remember saying: ‘As sad as I am – because I know there’s no going back – it almost gives me more reason just to go full force to the pedal outside of Emmerdale and really give it my all’.

“Once you know there’s no option for a potential return, you think to yourself: ‘Okay, it’s now or never and I need to go for it, full steam ahead, because there’s no safety blanket’.”

Did you watch the limo week?

“Because it’s been so relentless with the theatre schedule, I’ve not really had time to sit back and watch full episodes of the show yet. But I’ve seen clips, I’ve seen some behind-the-scenes footage online, and I’ve also seen the clip of Nate’s hand in the water.

“The limo scenes looked amazing. Obviously my colleagues are my friends too, so I want to catch up on the storyline for them.

“I think someone compared the stunt scenes to Hollywood quality. That doesn’t surprise me, because when it comes to stunts, Emmerdale are up there. They do it amazingly.”

Do you know who killed Nate?

“Yes, I know! (Laughs.) But I wouldn’t say anything because then it gives the storyline even more weight and power. When the unravelling does come about, it’s just going to be massive.

“By not saying anything, I feel like I’m giving the audience a treat just so they can see it for themselves, because it’s amazing. I think they’re going to be gripped to their seats.”

Is it strange to be part of a big storyline six months after leaving?

“It really is! Even now, sometimes I’ll get comments on my social media asking: ‘Is Nate dead? Was that Nate in the lake?’ Even in my family, my mum has people texting her asking her about it.

“But if I tell my mum a secret, she’ll keep it to herself – I love that about her! She’s so proud. Same with my dad – they’ll keep it to themselves and not say anything.”

What are your future ambitions beyond Boys from the Blackstuff?

“When Eden came to see the show the other day, we had a little chat and I said to her: ‘I just want to do things that I’m happy and passionate about’. So with the show I’m doing now, I’m passionate about it. I just want to continue to do projects like that.

“I’d love to go back into TV and film, but I’m also happy with what I’m doing now. I’d also love to do American and other international projects. I’ve done voiceover jobs with my American accent before, so I’d love to test myself more with that and go to America.

“My options are open and I don’t want to limit myself. But then I don’t want to plan too far ahead or set things in concrete when you can’t in this industry, or in life! You just never know what’s going to happen.”