Emmerdale fans were treated to a blast from the past this week, when Danny Miller returned to the soap as a permanent cast member as part of an exciting kick off to Super Soap Week.
In nail biting scenes which aired on Monday 9 October, the mystery prisoner who had been held captive by Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and Caleb Miligan (William Ash), was revealed to be none other than the duo’s nephew Aaron Dingle!
The pair had kidnapped and detained their errant relative in the hopes of keeping him out of trouble, after it emerged he had stolen £30,000 from members of the Italian mafia – who were keen to collect what they were owed.
Despite their good intentions however, Aaron did not appear to be anywhere near as enthusiastic about his incarceration, with the noticeably more aggressive villager showing even his own relatives a new degree of hostility during his time locked up.
Although viewers will have to keep watching to see how the storyline plays out, many fans at home were delighted to see the return of their favourite character, especially as his return had been kept such a closely guarded secret.
But when and why did Danny Miller leave Emmerdale prior to his return?
Danny, who famously played the role of Aaron Dingle for over 13 years walked away from the soap in November 2021, after becoming a father for the first time to his son Albert.
Speaking at the time, Danny told Metro.co.uk, "I’d like to think I’m very, very far away from Aaron and that’s part of the reason why I wanted to do [I’m A Celeb]. I’ve actually left Emmerdale, I unfortunately decided to start a new path in life.
"I’ve got my baby now and I’m [getting] married next year, it felt like the right time to open a new chapter in my life. I’m very, very emotional about it actually, it’s been a massive part of my life.
"I’ve wanted to spread my wings for a while and a show like this can give me the opportunity to see what else happens after it. [I can] start a new life with my family and see what happens.”
With parenthood weighing heavily on his mind, Danny revealed that his work schedule just wasn’t working with family life, as 12 hour days, Monday to Friday were making it very difficult to be able to spend time with his growing son, so he chose to step down from his soap role after coming to the “tough decision” that it wasn’t right for his family.
Following his departure, fans were heartbroken by Danny’s exit, but they were afforded a glimmer of hope the following year, when Danny’s character Aaron briefly returned to Emmerdale in autumn 2022 as part of his on-screen sister, Liv Flaherty’s (Isobel Steele) exit from the show.
Liv was killed during last year’s Super Soap Week, when she was tragically crushed during the worst storm to hit Emmerdale village in the show’s history.
It is this death, that has served as a catalyst for Danny’s permanent return to the soap now, with a far darker and edgier version of the Aaron we know and love having been irreparably transformed by grief.
Speaking about hisreturn, Danny told OK!,“Aaron’s done a lot of his grieving off-screen.”
“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.”
Danny even teased a very “toxic” reunion with his on-screen mum Chastity Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) too, that viewers won’t want to miss over the coming weeks.
“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.”
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