EMMERDALE actor Jonny McPherson’s secret career off-screen has been revealed.
The ITV favourite, 41, has played Dr Liam Cavanagh since 2014, becoming an Emmerdale regular four years later.
Emmerdale actor Jonny McPherson’s off-screen job has been revealed
The star is known for playing Dr Liam Cavanagh on the ITV soap
He used to live on a 60ft narrowboat – and then turned landlord as he rented it out
While his character resides in a countryside home in the Dales, the star himself used to live in a 60ft narrowboat.
He was joined on board by dog Mollie – and a heron called Keith living nearby.
After securing a flat in Leeds after two years on the soap, he became a landlord to raise extra cash.
He kept the boat and rented it out to holidaymakers on popular website Airbnb.
Talking of his side-hustle, Jonny told OK! Magazine: “I did put it [the narrowboat] on Airbnb for 18 months before I sold it, and it really took off.
“After a while, though, it began to get more difficult to manage.
“I was having to check in guests at 10pm on a Friday evening on top of my full-time role in Emmerdale and I decided to sell.”
Talking of getting recognised by fans, he added: “A few people got very giddy standing on Dr Liam’s boat.
“But others didn’t realise at all. I will go travelling on a canal boat again one day, but I certainly don’t miss emptying the poo tank twice a week any more!”
On social media, he has shared pictures of his wonderful boat, Benedict, which he moors near the Emmerdale studios in Leeds.
It has a cosy kitchen with pots and pans hanging from the wall, an ornate lamp and a partially-stocked wine rack.
One shot shows his collie lurcher Mollie snuggled up on a blanket in the seating area, which is beside a wood-burning stove.
Back on-screen, the actor has been a familiar face in the long-running soap, becoming involved in a string of explosive storylines.
Jonny was first seen in September, 2008, as Dr Jonathan Boam who looked after Donna Windsor-Dingle as she was recovering from a car crash.
This was the actor’s first ever role on the small screen and, judging by the trajectory of his career, he was an instant hit.
Two years later, he was called back to portray a nurse on duty when Jackson Walsh was injured by a train.
He then resurfaced as an unnamed doctor who tended to Cain Dingle in December, 2011 and even helped Rhona Goskirk in August, 2013, when the vet became addicted to pain killers.
Recently, we reported how the star looked unrecognisable in a gardening advert released prior to his soap star fame.
Meanwhile, back in 2021, he split with co-star Natalie J Robb.
He split with co-star Natalie J Robb in 2021
Jonny sold the boat after he moved into a flat in Leeds
He told how some fans were ‘giddy’ when they found out Dr Liam was their holiday landlord
