Emmerdale star Ryan Hawley will reportedly reprise his role as Robert Sugden after a six-year absence from the soap.

Hawley last appeared on the ITV soap back in 2019, with the character being sentenced to 14 years in jail following the murder of Lee Posner.

After his previous five-year stint, The Sun has reported that Hawley has already completed filming for his one-off comeback, with his latest scenes set to air next month.

Digital Spy has reached out for comment but there’s no official word on the storyline yet.

Hawley debuted as Robert in 2014, becoming the fourth actor to play the character following Richard Smith, Christopher Smith and Karl Davies. Following his departure, Hawley has had roles on Silent Witness, All Creatures Great and Small and Casualty.

Whilst the exact nature of Robert’s arc is unclear, we can be relatively sure that it will involve his ex-husband Aaron Dingle, who is currently preparing for his wedding to Robert’s villainous half-brother John.

Despite initially appearing as a kind-hearted individual, it has gradually been revealed that John has been harbouring several secrets following his arrival in the village last year, with the doctor possessing a dangerous hero complex.

Such is his desire to portray himself as the good guy, John has manufactured several situations – including intentionally injuring people in order to save the day – to his own advantage as he plays to his ego, with the figure also being confirmed as Nate Robinson’s killer.

Oliver Farnworth, who debuted as John in August, said of his character’s dark storyline: “For me, the exciting thing is that the viewers find out first before anyone else in the village. So it’s letting them into these big secrets that John’s been harbouring.

“It’s caused him a lot of stress and anguish having to hide things. I think the fact that the viewers find out first is going to be really exciting, although I’ll see what the backlash is, I guess! It was bound to happen at some point, so I’m glad it’s come out now.”