Emmerdale star Danny Miller confirms permanent return for Aaron
Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale has brought Aaron Dingle back to the show in a surprising storyline twist.
Monday's episode (October 9) revealed that Aaron is the mystery character who's being held captive by Cain Dingle and Caleb Miligan at Wylie's Farm.
Cain and Caleb have brought Aaron home from Italy after learning that he'd gone off the rails, still consumed by grief for his late sister Liv. However, with Aaron furious over their intervention, will it ultimately backfire on everyone?
Danny Miller, who plays Aaron, recently caught up with Digital Spy and other media to discuss his surprise comeback.
How has it been to return to Emmerdale?
"It's been amazing. It's almost like a new job for me, because I see it completely differently now. I've been back a couple of times, but this time I'm very appreciative of the job and very thankful for being back here.
"Obviously I've got a family now that needs feeding, and it's a fun way to do that! I'm living round the corner now because we've relocated over here, which shows that I really want to commit to Emmerdale. I want to show everyone how much I love it – and how much respect and thanks I've got for it."
Has this been a hard secret to keep?
"Yes, because when [former executive producer] Jane Hudson and [producer] Laura Shaw pitched the idea to come back, I was over the moon and so excited. But they said: 'There is something we want to do with it, which means that you're going to have to keep it quiet'.
"This was at the beginning of the year, so it's been months of not being able to tell people. We relocated and people were asking where I was moving to, but I wasn't able to tell people.
"Some of my closest friends and family don't even know what I've been up to, so it's been hard to do but the respect and appreciation for the show meant that I wanted to keep the secret.
"I wanted to be part of something that will hopefully be a shocking soap moment, so that made it easier because I knew that people would understand."
Are you expecting your phone to buzz with messages now that you're back?
"I don't know, it could go one way or the other. It could go: 'Oh God, he's back again!' Or it could be that they're happy he's back – I'm hoping it's the latter."
Did it feel like the right time to come back?
"Absolutely. I enjoyed the time away and I did I'm A Celeb, which was something I'd always wanted to do. I had the opportunity afterwards to go and do various other shows off the back of that.
"I left for time off with my family. You don't get that here at Emmerdale because it's very busy. I've done that and I feel like I've achieved a lot since I've been away.
"When the offer came back in, I was very thankful and appreciative. It made me think, 'This is for my family' and I feel very honoured to do that here."
Are you back for the foreseeable future?
"Well, it's soap, isn't it? In my eyes, they'll have to drag me out kicking and screaming. Whether that happens, I don't know. I'm certainly very happy here and we'll see what happens."
What can you tell us about Aaron's return story?
"Aaron has been away for a couple of years, apart from his brief return last year, trying to live a new life in Italy with his friend Adam and his partner Marco. Aaron has got himself into a lot of trouble since the death of Liv, which sent him off the rails.
"It was a quick exit when Aaron left last time, so he didn't have time to process everything. He's done his grieving off screen and it's not gone the way he imagined. Liv's death has made Aaron very angry at life and quite a few characters within the village.
"He's now been dragged back by Caleb and Cain, after taking something that wasn't his from some gangsters. He's also been lying about that. In previous years, Aaron was loyal, very honest and very family-orientated. Now it's time to see a completely different side to him."
Can you describe Aaron's state of mind?
"Aaron's state of mind is that he didn't want to come back. He was on a self-destructive path, which meant that he was happy to kill or be killed over there in Italy. It was Adam who made the call to warn Cain about this, explaining that Aaron is off the rails and has lost the plot entirely.
"Aaron's state of mind is that he's selfish, angry and depressed from everything that happened. He hasn't dealt with the grief very well, so he's angry with everybody and just constantly looking for a fight.
"It doesn't bother Aaron whether he wins or loses – just as long as he can have a fight and maybe feel a bit of pain at the hand of someone else."
How will Aaron cope with being back in the village for the first time since Liv's death?
"Most of the time he just wants the ground to swallow him up, really. It just brings back so many dark memories of what happened with Liv.
"Aaron blames Chas for that, because he believes Liv wouldn't have been out there in the storm if Chas hadn't been playing away with Al. He also had to hide the truth from Paddy and leave with that secret. It makes him even more angry at everybody."
How is Aaron's relationship with Chas?
"Toxic is probably the best way to describe it. Chas almost thinks that it's old ground and it's buried, while Aaron is at the opposite end of that. He blames Chas for the way he's feeling and the fact that he didn't get the chance to grieve Liv before he left the village.
"Granted, some of that was contractual! But a lot of it was because, story-wise, Aaron had to get away to avoid telling Paddy what was going on and he kept Chas' dirty little secret. That made him even more angry because Aaron is not that person, but Chas made him that person."
Do you want Aaron and Chas' relationship to be repaired?
"I do like playing this side of things. There are some times when I'm playing scenes and I think: 'Oh God, the audience are going to hate this and they're going to hate me!'
"But it makes it interesting for the character to change. Aaron has had that character change, which is interesting for me to play and hopefully the audience will see that it's a self-destruct and self-loathing path that he's on, as opposed to just doing it for no reason.
"It makes it fun for me to play, but Aaron is very nasty to a lot of characters. There's no remorse, which adds to that darker side to him. It is very interesting to play, but he's got so much hatred for so many people."
Does being friends with Lucy Pargeter, who plays Chas, make it harder to film those angry scenes?
"It's been amazing to play because we know that eventually – hopefully – there's going to be a reunion in that relationship. We were so used to playing nice scenes where Chas was supportive and Aaron was protective of her. He was always very respectful and if anyone even looked at Chas the wrong way, he'd snap and be the first to protect her.
'This is now the opposite. It's almost like Chas is a stranger to him and he can't stand everything that she's done.
"Aaron can't understand the fact that Chas is now very sorry and remorseful for what's happened – he thinks it's too little, too late. So soap is great at really exploring such an angry relationship, with hope that there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel, which I'm sure there will be at some point."
Can you tease what's ahead over the rest of this week?
"Aaron is adamant that he's been set up and hasn't taken this money. But there is a reveal there that Aaron is lying, which sets a tone for the character that he's changed. It makes for a really interesting story arc and eventually it's going to come out why he's done it.
"That money will be put to good use at some point. Whether it's through Aaron or not is a different story!
"It's a case of Aaron eventually getting back in the village. He's got a lot of repairing to do with various different characters and that should hopefully make for an interesting arc."
What was it like to film such dark scenes as your comeback?
"The scenes were dark but it was great. It all changed because I had a small issue with my knee, which made it easy to write it into the story that Aaron had been given a good hiding before he came over! Not a lot of acting was required with limping, because I was in agony throughout most of it.
"It was just great to work with Jeff Hordley [who plays Cain] again and to work with Will Ash [who plays Caleb].
"Obviously Lucy and Nat [J Robb, who plays Moira] came into the fold – and maybe another character or two turns up at some point, so it was nice for us to play scenes with each other again.
"It was really good to film and play a different form of Aaron, although in the heart of it you see moments which show that he's still in there somewhere and someone needs to just bring it out of him. When that will happen, we'll have to wait and see."
Would you like to see Aaron working with Cain and Caleb more?
"It'd be good to see that triangle of Caleb, Cain and Aaron. They're all very like-minded and the Dingle DNA is in there throughout. It makes for a very interesting story that they work as a trio, but whether that happens I don't know.
"We discussed it with Will and Jeff – how interesting it would be if they all bang heads together and come up with ways of making money. How Dingles do that is always very interesting."
What's it like working with Will Ash?
"I've known Will since I was about 18 or 19 playing football. We always used to say 'Will Ash, nicest guy in the business' because everybody loves him. It's interesting to work with him and act with him.
"There's a couple of scenes where Caleb gets in Aaron's face. It took me a couple of takes as I thought: 'This is so weird that this is now happening with Will'. He's a great addition to the show and the character is as well. I was made up that Will was going to be part of the team that I was re-joining."
Can you give us any final teasers on what's ahead?
"I was just reading new scripts and it stays on that darker arc. Laura and Jane were saying: 'We're keen to keep that because we don't have that kind of character – who's looking for a fight, who's winding people up, who's got these smart comebacks and lines'.
"For me, that's quite good to play because Aaron keeps making smart remarks. It's good to play that character, and then eventually in the future hopefully he'll return to some form of who he used to be."
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Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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