Emmerdale star Ryan Hawley has spoken about his shock return to the soap for the first time – promising a “fantastic few episodes” still to come as the show’s dramatic wedding storyline continues.

Wednesday’s visit to the Dales ended with a mysterious cliffhanger, as Ryan’s character Robert Sugden was seen interrupting his ex-husband Aaron Dingle’s big day.

Aaron is tying the knot with Robert’s half-brother John, unaware that the trained medic is a dangerous killer.

But how is Robert back, when he was last known to be serving a long prison sentence? And what does it all mean for Aaron and John’s future? All will be revealed very soon…

Speaking to us about the storyline, Ryan enthused: “Robert’s back after six years! And a lot has happened during this time in the village and for Robert. Two very different worlds – the village and Robert’s reality in prison.

“And out of the blue, just in the nick of time, Robert turns up at Aaron’s wedding to John.

“It sets up a fantastic few episodes to finish off the wedding week, which shows how the incident of Robert turning up will resolve itself. It’s a massive dilemma for Aaron, who’s found John as a new love in his life and then he’s got Robert, who used to be the love of his life, turn up!

“He’s got a massive decision to make. I guess all the weight is on Aaron’s shoulders. What’s Robert doing there, has he got ulterior motives, does he know something about John? How has he even found out that this wedding was taking place?

“There’s a lot to unpick and so much to be revealed over the next few nights. It’s a great few episodes and I’m really excited to see them.”

He continued: “Rejoining the cast of Emmerdale feels fantastic. I’ve been having so much fun being back here. Oddly, more fun than I thought it was going to be, in a good way.

“We’ve been filming some great stuff. There’s a lot more to Robert’s return than just the value of opening the door. I’ve been having so much fun, everyone’s been lovely, and there are a lot of familiar faces and loads of really positive energy about the place.

“There’s lots of drama, lots of conflict. There’s the dilemma for Aaron and John and also his return affects so many other people in the village.”

Emmerdale bosses had tried to keep Robert’s return under wraps as a huge surprise for fans on the night – even scrapping the early ITVX release so that everybody could watch the cliffhanger at the same time.

Despite everyone’s best efforts behind the scenes, news of Robert’s comeback leaked out at the start of this month – albeit without any firm story details.

Ryan told us: “We have been really trying to keep the fact I’m back under wraps for the viewers. I was given a code name of ‘Marco’. In fact, I think everyone’s sick of hearing the name Marco.

“I’ve been using a secret entrance to get into the building and I’ve had a driver picking me up from my house and driving me to Emmerdale. Plus most of my scenes have even been scheduled in the village so that I wouldn’t run the risk of bumping into people and it getting out.

“There’s so much effort that’s gone into it. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t tell my family or friends. Just fairly recently, I said: ‘It’s Ryan, I play Robert’. The security guard said: ‘What’s your code name?’ I said: ‘Marco’. And then he let me in!

“I can’t wait for the audience’s reaction, I hope some of them are shocked to see him.”

Asked whether Robert is back for good, Ryan replied: “Well, Ryan is back, but Robert is still technically in prison so we shall have to wait and see how that works out!”