Emmerdale star Amelia Flanagan has appeared as April Windsor on the ITV soap for over a decade. Amelia, 16, has starred as Marlon Dingle’s daughter April on Emmerdale since 2014. The young actress from Leeds is currently at the forefront of a huge storyline after April went missing at the end of last year.

On Tuesday February 4, Emmerdale fans will see a special standalone episode that takes viewers back to witness April’s heartbreaking story and her life on the streets. Over the past few weeks, Marlon, played by Mark Charnock, and Rhona, played by Zoe Henry, have been struggling to cope with the emotional turmoil a family faces when a young person goes missing.

Emmerdale producer, Laura Shaw, said: “Amelia Flanagan’s outstanding performance makes this arguably, one of Emmerdale’s stand out episodes of this year and promises to start a new journey for the character of April, forever changed by her time living on the city streets.”

Amelia has been heavily praised for her performances over the years, winning Best Young Actor at the Insider Soap Awards for three years in a row and The British Soap Awards’ Best Young Performance in 2015.

It seems acting talent runs in the family, as the 16-year-old actress has famous siblings who you might recognise from other soaps. Her siblings Bella and Will Flanagan are actors on Coronation Street. Will plays Joseph Brown and Bella plays the role of Hope Dobbs on the cobbles.

Amelia Flanagan spoke to Inside Soap about her household’s playful rivalry, admitting that while she’s firmly “Team Emmerdale”, her siblings cheer for “Team Corrie”. “It’s never competitive”, she said, highlighting the supportive atmosphere when they practice lines together.

Chris and Rachel Flanagan are the proud parents to the three soap stars and they regularly share updates from their happy family life to their Instagram account.

In an exclusive interview with OK! magazine, Rachel insisted her kids haven’t got their acting talent from their parents. She said: “We’re big soap lovers but they don’t get the acting from us, they all just genuinely love it. We love that they all play such different roles. It’s hard to find a good part for a young actor but they’ve all got brilliant, brilliant characters – who are very different to them in real life!”

Their dad, Chris Flanagan is a store manager at TK Maxx. He spoke about how he juggles his time and manages the logistics of taking the kids to set. He said: “Quite often it’s leaving the house at 6am and maybe not getting back home until much later in the day. He added: “They do it all and just take it in their stride. Amelia doesn’t know any different really, she’s been in Emmerdale for two thirds of her life.”