Emmerdale’s Danny Miller Talks Shock Aaron Dingle Return

Aaron Dingle, their nephew, was revealed to be the person Cain and Caleb have been imprisoning at the abandoned Wylie’s farmhouse in tonight’s episode of Emmerdale.

Jeff Hordley’s character Cain and William Ash’s character Caleb recently returned from a mysterious trip; Cain kept Moira (Natalia J. Robb) in the dark about their whereabouts.

It became clear that they were holding someone there when they were seen boarding up windows at the former Wylie’s farm.

In Friday’s episode, Moira followed Cain to the farm out of suspicion and concern that he might be up to something illegal.

When Moira heard a crash from inside, Cain had almost persuaded her that he and Caleb wanted to spruce up the place for Nate. When Moira discovered a locked room, she opened the door to discover a familiar face bound and seated in a chair.

That person was identified as Aaron (Danny Miller) tonight, and it was revealed that Cain and Caleb had hurried to Italy in response to a call from Adam in order to save Aaron from himself.

Producer Laura Shaw introduced the actor to EverySoap and other media at a press event last week, and it is now official that Danny Miller has rejoined the show permanently.

“We’ve been working really hard to keep it a secret, we’ve been calling him a different name, driving to work a different way, parking in a secret place…” Laura told us, after Danny entered the studio to whoops from the press. “We’ve been hiding him all over the place and hoping no-one finds him!”

Aaron was last seen in October 2022, when he left the village under a cloud after learning that his mother Chas (Lucy Pargeter) had been having an affair with Al Chapman (Michael Wildman) behind husband Paddy’s (Dominic Brunt) back. Liv, his beloved half-sister, had recently passed away.

Aaron blamed his mother for Liv’s passing despite the fact that Liv had only gone outside into the storm to watch over Chas and Paddy’s daughter Eve. Aaron learned that Chas had been taken to the hospital after suffering a head injury.

Liv wouldn’t have passed away if she had been in the bar rather than out with Al after promising to break things off with him. He disowned Chas and left the village to go back to Italy after Liv’s funeral.

“What you’ll see is a slightly darker, different Aaron,” Laura revealed. “We’ll see just how much Liv’s death has affected Aaron, and how much he’s pushing people away.

“Having been hurt by the loss of Liv, he absolutely never wants to go through that hurt again, so he’s lashing out at the world.”

“Of course we also saw deep fractures with Chas when Aaron left, so what’s going to happen there?” Laura teased. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be explosive, and given the anger and bitterness coming out of Aaron, I think we’ll see it damage some other relationships irreparably.

“The anger will certainly come out in some shocking ways, and will definitely put some big cracks into the Dingle family.”

Danny joined us after a screening of this week’s episodes to discuss his return further…

What brings Aaron back?

He has been trying to start over in Italy with Adam and his partner Marco for a few years. Furthermore, he has put himself in quite a bit of trouble.

When he returned, Liv’s passing sent him spiraling out of control. He didn’t have much time to think about it because of how quickly he left. He has grieved privately, and it has not gone as he had hoped. He is now very enraged at life and many people in the village as a result.

And as a result, he has just been brought back by Cain and Caleb after stealing something that wasn’t his from, let’s say, a good number of gangsters. For those who are familiar with Aaron from prior years, they know how loyal, honest, and family-focused he is, and how he has been lying about that.

So this time, we get to see an entirely new side of him.

What’s Aaron’s state of mind at this point?

He didn’t want to return, and he didn’t. I believe that he was somewhat on a self-destructive path, which meant that he was content to kill or be killed in Italy. And Adam is the one who calls Cain to tell him that.

He’s completely lost the plot and has gone off the deep end. As a result, it’s clear from his behavior that he’s extremely egotistical, furious, and possibly depressed. He hasn’t handled his grief well, and he’s always looking for a fight.

He doesn’t care whether he wins or loses as long as he can engage in some sort of conflict and possibly experience some degree of pain at the hands of another person.

He hasn’t been back to the village since Liv died. How does he feel being there now?

He probably just wants the earth to swallow him up the majority of the time, in my opinion. Just remembering everything that happened with Liv brings back a lot of memories. And he holds Chas heavily responsible for it because, in his opinion, Liv would not have been outside in the storm if Chas hadn’t been making out with Al.

And the fact Aaron had to keep it from Paddy and then leave for Italy with that secret kind of makes him even more angry at everybody. That’s not Aaron really.

How is Aaron’s relationship with Chas on his return?

It’s probably best to describe it as toxic. Aaron is completely at odds with Chas in that he blames her for how he is feeling and the fact that he didn’t have time to grieve Liv before he had to leave the village, whereas Chas almost seems to think it’s old ground and it’s buried.

Although some of that was undoubtedly contractual, the story goes that he had to flee before telling Paddy what was happening and that he managed to keep Chas’s dirty little secret. He was even more furious that Chas had turned him into that person as a result.

Do you think their relationship is repairable, or do you like playing this side of it?

I enjoy participating on this side of it. The audience is going to hate me in a lot of the scenes I’m in, but it makes for an interesting character change.

It’s hoped that the audience will be as supportive of Aaron as they have always been and recognize his path as one of self-destruction and self-loathing rather than random behavior.

He treats many characters in a very mean way and says things that almost seem deliberate and without remorse, which kind of adds to his darker side.

You’re close friends with Lucy Pargeter (Chas), does that make it harder to film?

Nope—she adores it! She enjoys playing around and such. Playing has been incredible because it almost feels like we already know that this will, hopefully, lead to a sort of reunion and rekindling of that relationship.

We were so used to acting out sweet scenes where she was encouraging and he was very respectfully guarding her. He would become enraged and rush to defend her if anyone even dared to look her way. This, however, is the opposite.

She almost seems like a stranger to him, and he finds it hard to accept everything she has done. Aaron finds it difficult to understand her sincerity and regret for what transpired, believing it to be too little, too late.

I’m sure there will be a light at the end of the tunnel at some point, but soap operas are great at knuckleheading together such a vengeful relationship.

What was it like filming these return scenes in the farmhouse? They’re pretty dark.

They lacked light. It was fantastic; I believe that at first he was just supposed to be imprisoned there, but then I developed a minor knee problem, which made it somewhat simpler to write lines into the story implying that he had received a good beating before coming over.

Since I was in excruciating pain for the majority of it, not much acting was required when I was limping. But working with Jeff once more was just wonderful. Naturally, there’s Will as well, who I’ve known for a very long time.

I’ve known Will Ash since I started playing football when I was 18 or 19. People used to always say that Will Ash is the nicest man in the business. It was really nice to work with him because I had followed his journey while watching the show as an audience member.

Then Lucy obviously joins the group, and perhaps one or two other characters also appear later.

Could you see Aaron working more with his uncles?

Yes, I believe he has grown considerably. Naturally, that’s me as a person, an actor, and both. He should be able to make out the triangle formed by Caleb, Cain, and Aaron. They share a lot of similar views, and it’s clear that Dingle DNA permeates everything they do.

That they sort of function as a trio makes for a pretty interesting story. But I’m not sure if that will actually happen. We talked about it with Will and Jeff and mentioned how intriguing it would be if they all started brainstorming different ways to make money. And it’s always fascinating to see how Dingles accomplish that.

Can you tease what else is coming up from Aaron this week?

Although Aaron is adamant that he hasn’t received the money, the revelation to the audience, as well as to Cain, Caleb, and Chas, that he is lying really establishes the character. His radical transformation makes for a really compelling narrative arc.

It will eventually become clear why he did it, and that money will eventually be put to good use. Whether or not Aaron is responsible for that is a different matter. However, the money he believes to be his will be used wisely in a manner that will be revealed that week.

And then it’s a case of eventually getting him 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.

How’s it been returning to Emmerdale?

It’s been incredible. For me, it’s almost like starting a new job because I perceive it entirely differently from the previous times I’ve returned. I’m grateful for the job and for the opportunity to work here.

It’s obvious that I now have a family to feed, so it’s a fun way to do that. We moved here because I really want to demonstrate to them and the audience how dedicated I am to the show, how much I love it, and how much respect and gratitude I have for it.

Has it been hard keeping the secret?

It has, indeed! I was ecstatic and obviously overjoyed when Jane and Laura first proposed the idea of returning, but they later clarified that you’ll need to keep it quiet because there is something we want to do with it.

It is clear that this occurred at the start of the year. As a result, it has taken months to go without telling anyone and then move the family without telling anyone. And a few of my closest friends and relatives are unaware of my activities. Consequently, it has been challenging to accomplish.

But it goes without saying that I wanted to keep that a secret out of respect and appreciation for the show. I wanted to take part in a scene that, hopefully, will be shocking for a soap opera.

And you’re back for the foreseeable…?

You are aware that it is soap, right? So…(Danny waves at producer Laura Shaw) Hello, Laura! You’re awesome! In my opinion, they would have to drag me out while screaming, but I’m not sure if that will actually happen. We’ll see what happens, but I’m definitely very happy here.

Finally can you give any further hints as to what’s ahead for Aaron?

I’ve only recently started reading the scripts, and they continue along this darker arc. Since we don’t have a character who actively seeks out conflict and amuses others with shrewd comebacks, I know Laura and Jane were keen to keep that.

It’s enjoyable to play that role, but hopefully he’ll revert to some semblance of his former self in the future.