Emmerdale favourite Aaron Dingle will make a shock return to the famous Yorkshire village.
Played by Danny Miller on and off since 2008, the former I’m a Celebrity winner admits he feels grateful than ever to be back on the set of Emmerdale for good after becoming a dad for the second time. The 32-year-old star said it’s been tougher than he ever imagined trying to find a role that he loved as much as his Emmerdale character.
Danny said once he had accepted the offer to return, the soap bosses were so determined to keep it a top secret, they even gave him two code names of ‘Albert Jones’ and ‘Wylie Smith’ to not let the cat out the bag. Even Dominic Brunt wondered if Aaron’s on-screen mum, Chas, had discovered she had a long-lost son when he saw the code names written on the scripts – The Mirror reports.
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In an exclusive sit down interview with The Mirror today, Danny said: “I am excited to finally be able to talk about my return to Emmerdale playing Aaron. It’s so good to be back permanently. Everyone wanted to keep it a secret and I loved this idea, so I was given two code names on the scripts – Albert Jones which I am guessing they got from my wife’s maiden name and son, and then Wylie Smith is the other alias as he starts at Wylie Farm.
"And you would be surprised how many people didn’t clock on to who it was at first! Dominic, who plays Paddy, said to me: ‘I didn’t understand who this Wylie was. I thought Chas had another son who they brought back! It's soap isn’t it? It is believable a long-lost son comes back into it!’”
He went on to explain: “My time off was the best decision I ever made as I loved being with Steph and Albert and having no commitments," he says. "It was like a gap year that ran into two. I feel so lucky to have been able to do this. But it is tough being an actor and it’s very difficult to find lead roles.
As viewers will discover in the soap’s super stunt week, Aaron has got himself in a lot of trouble after fleeing the Yorkshire Dales following a brief return last autumn for the soap’s 50th birthday. Danny explained: "Cain and Caleb have rescued him from Italy and essentially saved his life. He was self-destructing and Aaron doesn’t know who he is anymore.
"He has got involved with some gangsters and the Mafia in Italy and Cain comes to get him before he is killed. It’s an interesting story and it’s nice to discover more about the foundation of who he is, how much he has lost in his life and how he has been walked all over. Everything has come to a climax and he has admitted he has had enough. He has got a defence wall up now and he doesn’t want to let anyone walk all over him.
"He is full of a lot of anger after discovering Chas was having an affair with Al last year and it’s safe to say it’s going to be a rollercoaster of a journey for them both. I don’t think she quite understands just how toxic he is and the hatred he has got for her.”
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