Danny Miller teases future ‘Emmerdale’ returns as he discusses emotional Faith story
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I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here winner Danny Miller returns to Emmerdale next week where his character Aaron Dingle is set to surprise his family.
The actor made his exit last year amid a turbulent time on the show; but Miller was asked to return for the ITV soap’s 50th anniversary, and he now says that he’d never turn down an invitation to reprise his popular TV role.
“Emmerdale’s been huge for me, and it was an honour that they wanted me to come and say ‘happy birthday’ I guess!" he says.
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“I’m not one of those actors that would say ‘oh no, that’s it now, I’ve shelved him’ because as I’ve said, it’s a massive part of my life, huge part of my life, and it always will be.
"So there’s never a chance of me ever saying I’ll never go back.”
But for now, a more permanent return isn’t possible.
“I’ve got a few things on at the end of the year," Miller said at a recent press event, "like a pantomime and then I’ve got a job next year as well, so it’s just not the right time at the moment.”
“It’s one of those things; as I’ve said, if it’s the right time, and it’s a big part of my life. I wouldn’t ever necessarily turn it [down].”
However, Miller teases that there might just be one exception to this promise: “I mean, obviously, if I went and got the Bond role, there might be a chance that I wouldn’t come back!”
Aaron is home to support his struggling clan as his grandmother, Faith (Sally Dexter) is terminally ill. And the actor tells us that there are some incredibly emotional scenes ahead.
“She gives him advice, but also Aaron gives her advice. And it's really nice, and it was really hard not to get emotional. The scene was never really written for us both to be blubbering, but by the end of it we both were.
Read more: Danny Miller to return for Emmerdale 50th anniversary
“I think [it’ll] be really effective as well, because it touches on so many issues, mental health-wise. What [Faith is] going through compared to what [Aaron] went through with Jackson, who gets a mention in it.”
In 2011, Aaron helped boyfriend Jackson Walsh (Marc Silcock) to die after he was paralysed from the neck down in a train crash. In recent scenes, Faith declared that she plans to end her life on her own terms, rather than letting the cancer take control.
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“I think that the way she's talking is what gets to him,” Miller reveals. “Obviously [when] he first sees her, she's very frail and pale. It kind of shocks him more than ever; it's like, ‘wow’ she is really deteriorating.
“It’s then he realises; he doesn’t know what, but she’s obviously got something up her sleeve.”
Miller adds that he was thrilled to get the opportunity to work with co-star Dexter again. “It was really nice to share the screen with Sally, I think she's a fantastic actress, I really do. It's incredible to watch her work.
“We talked about personal experiences in our own lives as me and Sally, and then we did the same as Aaron and Faith. I learned so much about her, and how interesting she is, and how incredible I think she is.”
Emmerdale has partnered with Dignity in Dying to portray Faith's story. You can find support for the issues discussed above by visiting The Samaritans.
Watch the moment Emmerdale's Danny Miller won I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here