Former Irish Emmerdale actor, Seamus Gubbins, has been arrested on suspicion of running a cannabis farm.

Gubbins, who played stalker Ray Mullan in the hit TV soap from 2001-2002,was charged after a raid on his house after a tip-off.

Gubbins, who has two children,  has also had film roles in Being Human and appeared on BBC drama 32 Brinkburn Street last year.

If he is found guilty of the charges, the actor from Castleconnell, Co Limerick,  could be locked up for two years.

A source told the Irish Sun: “He said there’s a good chance he won’t be around to see his kids for a couple of years if he is convicted.”

Gubbins is due to appear in court on Monday.

A Merseyside Police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that a 47-year-old man from Walton, Liverpool, has been charged with production of a controlled drug. Seamus Gubbins will appear at Liverpool North Justice Centre on August 6.”

Gubbins played popular character Irish wheeler-dealer Ray Mullan, although initially Emmerdale bosses  wanted him to play an Englishman, and became a hit with the ladies!

He said: “Ray was not written as an Irish character. He was meant to be Northern English and I auditioned with both accents.

“They decided that it would be too much work to keep the Northern English accent up so I just used my own voice.

“There have been a few Irish villains in the past but I don’t think people are silly enough to think we Irish are all bad.”