BEN Whitehead literally grew up on the set of Yorkshire's famous soap - Emmerdale.

The child actor was just two weeks old when he landed the part of Samuel Skilbeck, a character he played up until the age of eight before his 'Emmerdale' family moved away.

Samuel (known as Sam) was the son of farm-hand Matt and Dolly Skilbeck and appeared in the soap from 1982 to 1991 when it was then filmed in its original location, the village of Esholt near Bradford.

The village was used for outside location filming from 1976 to 1996 but the soap has since re-located to a purpose built set based on the layout of Esholt on the Harewood Estate in Leeds.

Sam's character was born in December 1982 and was named after Sam Pearson, the grandfather of Matt's first wife, Peggy.

Incidentally, Matt and his first wife, Peggy, previously had twins, Sam and Sally. When Peggy died young, Matt was left bringing up his children with the help of Annie Sugden.

Sadly, in January 1976, Sam and Sally, who were three at the time, were killed in a car accident alongside their auntie at a level crossing in Beckindale. They were buried with their mother in Beckindale churchyard.

Dolly Acaster arrived from Darlington to work at The Woolpack pub - The Woolpack pub remains a traditional country pub in Esholt.

Eventually she fell for widower, Matt Skilbeck. The couple eventually married in June 1978 and had a son, Samuel, played by Ben.

But Dolly's past would come back to haunt her when her former lover arrived revealing her secret of an illegitimate child who had been given away for adoption.

Matt and Dolly drifted apart and in 1989 they separated. Dolly left the village with Sam in 1991 but the following year Dolly re-married Matt who had left the village to take on the role of manager of a Norfolk sheep farm.

While Ben cannot recall those early years, or the reason why he was cast in the soap, due to him being so young when he joined the cast of what was then known as Emmerdale Farm, he can remember practicing his lines later on and catching up with schoolwork in the dressing room.

"I vaguely remember it, bits and pieces of it. It was a long time ago," says Ben.

Since then the 34-year-old, from Otley, has carved out a totally contrasting career - as a stonemason.

He was in his early 20s when he began working at the quarry - before that he was a heavy goods mechanic. "I fancied doing something different. They had a job going and I applied for it," explains Ben.

He joined Mone Brother's Blackhill Quarry in Eccup, Leeds, one of the UK’s largest suppliers of plant equipment, building materials and recycling services to the UK construction industry, originally working as a yard lad.

Seeing the stonemasons at work fired Ben's imagination. "I watched the stonemasons and enjoyed it and I fancied getting into something like that," explains Ben.

“I started out in the yard as a lad and gradually learnt the art of stone masonry on the job. I had some great mentors and they’ve passed me the knowledge I need to carry out my work."

Over the years Ben has worked on some high profile projects including creating a lettered stone for the village of Meanwood. He has created fireplaces too.

“I love what I do and have worked on some great projects over the years,” added Ben who’s latest project is to hand carve lettering on to a millstone for a new playground in Burley in Wharfedale.

Interestingly, Ben still has links with Emmerdale - albeit indirectly - as the quarry has been used by Emmerdale as a filming location on numerous occasions.

"There are strong links with Emmerdale here with the latest filming last year involving a car driving off the edge of the quarry into a lake. It was exciting to watch, but I wouldn't swap my current career to go back to TV."

Ben, who always enjoyed drawing and art at school, is content to continue carving out his career as a stonemason, and seeing the legacy of his work living on.

“It’s very satisfying to see your own expertise on show right across Yorkshire,” concluded Ben.

"I just enjoy it - it's not a repetitive job, everything is different."