It’s Super Soap week in Emmerdale, and they’ve already served up the first of many shocks in Monday’s episode – Aaron Dingle is back!
The poor lad has actually been in the village longer than viewers thought as it was revealed that Aaron is the reason why Caleb Miligan (Will Ash) and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) keep sneaking off.
For his own protection, Caleb and Cain have been keeping their nephew tied up in a barn in the Dales after kidnapping him in Italy and it’s safe to say that Aaron is not pleased to be home – luckily, actor Danny Miller is.
“I wanted to be part of something that would be a shocking soap moment,” Danny tells OK!. “And I’m over the moon, but it has been months of not being able to tell anyone, and then relocating and moving.
“Some of my closest friends and family don't even know what I've been up to. It’s been hard to do, but obviously the respect and appreciation for the show meant that I wanted to keep that secret.”
The last time Aaron was in Emmerdale, his little sister Liv Dingle (Isobel Steele), died in a storm and understandably this has had a big effect on Aaron.
“Aaron’s done a lot of his grieving off-screen,” says Danny. “Liv’s death sent him off the rails, and then he had such a quick exit that he didn’t have time to process everything. So Aaron’s very angry at life and quite a few people in the village.”
“He’s been dragged back by Cain and Caleb after taking something that wasn’t his,” continues Danny. “And Aaron blames Chas tremendously – he believes that Liv wouldn't have been out in the storm had Chas not been playing away with Al Chapman (Michael Wildman).”
Viewers will remember Aaron and mum Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) always had a close bond, but that’s all changed now.
“I think toxic is the best way to describe their relationship,” explains Danny. “Chas almost thinks that it's old ground and it's buried, whereas Aaron's the complete opposite end of that because he blames her for the way he's feeling.
“It’s fun to play this out with Lucy, and she loves it! We were so used to having all these nice scenes before – if anybody even looked at Chas in the wrong way, Aaron would be the first to protect her. So it’s been amazing to film, but hopefully there will be a reunion and rekindling of that relationship.”
While Aaron will be back for the foreseeable, he’s a completely different man to the one viewers know and love.
“In a lot of scenes I’m going ‘Oh god, the audience are going to hate me!’” confesses Danny, “Aaron is on a self-destruct, self-loathing path. He’s nasty to a lot of characters and there's no remorse which adds to this dark side of him.
“It’s good to play a different form of Aaron, but he’s still there at the heart of it. That side needs to be brought back out and when that will happen, you’ll have to wait and see.”
Danny returned to the show briefly in October last year, but hasn’t been a series regular since November 2021, so how has he found being back?
“It's been amazing, it’s almost like a new job for me because I see it completely differently than before,” says Danny. “I'm very thankful for being back here and obviously, I have a family now that needs feeding and this is a fun way to do that.
“I did enjoy the time away, though and I did I’m a Celebrity which is something I’ve always wanted to do. I had time off with my family, and then the offer came in to go back and I feel very honoured to do that.”
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