James Hooton marked a huge milestone on Emmerdale (Image: ITV)
star James Hooton has been showered with support from his fellow cast members as he celebrated marking a huge milestone on the ITV soap.
The actor, 51, first graced the Dales as Sam Dingle in 1995 and quickly became a fan favourite as part of the infamous family.
James took a brief hiatus from the soap in 1998, only to return in 2000 and remain a constant presence ever since.
Now, the soap star has marked his 30th anniversary on the soap. Taking to , James shared a selfie as he reflected on his first scene in the Dales back in 1995.
He wrote: “Today marks my 30th anniversary on ! Jan10th 1995 was my first scene in Esholt village with Steve Halliwell (Zak) and Paul Loughran (Butch). Got myself a nice light hat to celebrate!”
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James made his first appearance as Sam Dingle in 1995 (Image: ITV)
The ITV star’s milestone didn’t go unnoticed by his co-stars as they quickly flooded his post with congratulatory messages.
Karen Blick, who plays James’ on-screen wife Lydia Dingle, penned: “Congratulations. Amazing achievement James! Love working with you, here’s to your next 30 years.”
Mandy Dingle star Lisa Riley expressed her affection with: “Love you, here’s to many more years of laughing endlessly at NONSENSE. Congratulations birthday brother, one of my favourite humans in the world.”
Best known for portraying Tracy Metcalfe, Amy Walsh branded her co-star a “ledge” before congratulating him.
Eden Taylor-Draper shared an enthusiastic “WAHOOOOOO amazing Jim” accompanied by a love heart emoji.
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James addressed his Emmerdale future on Loose Women (Image: ITV)
Kerry Wyatt star Laura Norton commented: “Love it. Totally deserved cream of the crop.”
Last year, during an appearance on . Quizzed by host Christine Lampard on how long Sam will remain in the village, James responded: “As long as they’ll have me I’ll stay there.”
His Loose Women interview came whilst his character was embroiled in a gripping storyline involving his son Samson (Sam Hall), who was stabbed.
The storyline kickstarted a dispute between Sam and his half-brother (Jeff Hordley).
Speaking about the Dingle feud, James said: “Cain always seems to have his own best interest at heart and I think Sam realises that and he actually ends up standing up to Cain, which is a bit of a first.”