Emmerdale welcomed back Ryan Hawley as Robert Sugden in tonight’s dramatic episode and now the returning star has confirmed that he’s back “for good” after six years away. Fans of the ITV soap watched tonight as Robert crashed the wedding of his ex Aaron Dingle and half-brother John Sugden, years after Robert was sent to prison for the murder of Lee Posner.

Speaking to The Mirror in an exclusive chat, Ryan revealed that not only is he back on the soap – but he’s sticking around on a permanent basis. “The secret is out today! My character is returning permanently and not just for Aaron and John’s wedding. I am back for good, and I am so excited to be playing Robert again,” he said.

Robert crashed Aaron’s wedding to John in tonight’s episode of Emmerdale

The star went onto explain that he had been asked to return in the past to reprise the iconic role, but it had “never felt quite right” to do so. “Recently, while I was living in Brazil with my family, where we had been for the past year, Danny texted to see how I would feel. We’ve always kept in touch, and after a lot of thought, I told him, ‘Yeah, I am up for it. ’ I then got a call swiftly from the producers, and it went from there,” he added.

Robert added that he’s now moved back to the UK permanently to be in the soap. “The timing felt right for us to not only move back to Britain, but also for me to come back to Emmerdale. Enough time has passed, and with this big wedding storyline, it is the right time for Robert to cause chaos and huge drama!”

While we don’t yet know why Robert is back in the village, Ryan revealed that he wants to stop the marriage from happening. “He causes disasters wherever he goes, but on this occasion, he wants to stop the wedding – and while it will cause chaos, it’s also the right thing to do, because we know John isn’t right for Aaron,” he said.

Ryan was persuaded to reprise the role he quit in 2019, after five years, by his co-star Danny Miller, who plays Aaron. Danny messaged him in Brazil, where he was living with his wife Daisy Prestes de Oliveira and their two children, to see if he’d consider coming back.

“I have had a few calls over the past six years to see how I would feel about reprising the role, but it never felt quite right. Recently, while I was living in Brazil with my family, where we had been for the past year, Danny texted to see how I would feel,” Ryan continued.

The lengths to which producers went to keep his character’s return tonight secret were impressive, even by Emmerdale’s standards. As part of a cloak and dagger operation, on scripts, his lines were given the codename ‘Marco’ – after a man Aaron briefly dated.

And Ryan even used a secret entrance to come into the studios, when he arrived from his Yorkshire home. Smiling, he says, “It has made me feel very special and important, the way people have treated me since I decided to come back.”

Earlier this week, Emmerdale fans were convinced that John – who murdered Nate Robinson – could kill again after his ex Aidan woke up from a coma after years.