Emmerdale's Ryan Hawley lets slip future on soap as he breaks silence on Robert return

Robert Sugden actor Ryan Hawley has broken his silence on his return, speaking out for the first time.

He may have let slip his soap future too, appearing to confirm how long he was on the soap for. With that, he teased, and how hard it was to keep the news a secret.

The return had been leaked a few weeks ago, but actor Ryan remained quiet over it all. He's now spoken out over his first scenes on the ITV soap on six years, spilling all on his decision to reprise the role of fan favourite Robert.

It comes after Wednesday's episode ended with the moment Robert gatecrashed his ex-husband Aaron Dingle's wedding to new flame John Sugden, Robert's half-brother. Just as the pair prepared to say their vows Robert stormed in, asking his ex if he missed him.

Viewers will have to wait until Thursday to find out what happens next, and what this means for John and Aaron. Speaking about his big return, actor Ryan revealed: "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.

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"And out of the blue, just in the nick of time, Robert turns up at Aaron’s wedding to John." But when asked about the comeback, Ryan hinted all might not be as it seems.

With Robert currently in prison over Lee Posner's murder, questions will be raised over how he's managed to gatecrash the wedding. Something Ryan has teased though could suggest there's more to it, and Robert might not actually be there.

He said: "Well Ryan is back, but Robert is still technically in prison so we shall have to wait and see how that works out!" So does this mean he's not actually returned, and is it one of John's nightmares?

A further comment appeared to rule out a full-time or even a long stint on the show, with Ryan hinting his scenes would only air across "a few episodes" - while he might not be allowed to reveal the true length of time he is on the show.

He said: "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." Ryan's thrilled by his comeback though, and he shared his excitement for Robron fans to witness it all.

He said: "I can’t wait for the audience’s reaction, I hope some of them are shocked to see him." As for keeping it all under wraps before it aired, he went on: "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' and the security guard said 'what’s your code name.' I said, 'Marco.' And then he let me in!"

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on , , , , , and .