It's the right time for me to come back and cause some chaos in the Dales

Following a six-year hiatus, Ryan Hawley says he finally feels ready to tear things up on Emmerdale again as his character Robert Sugden prepares to disrupt the soap's 119th wedding.

- CHRISTINE SMITH

Following a six-year hiatus, Ryan Hawley says he finally feels ready to tear things up on Emmerdale again as his character Robert Sugden prepares to disrupt the soap's 119th wedding.

But will Robert - fresh from prison - get there in time to stop his ex, Aaron Dingle, making a big mistake by tying the knot with John Sugden tonight? Ryan's lips are sealed. "You will have to watch to find out," he says.

The soap star, 39, was persuaded to return to the Dales by his co-star Danny Miller, who plays Aaron.

Ryan had been living in South America with his wife Daisy Prestes de Oliveira and their two children.

Ryan tells the Mirror: "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.

"I have had a few calls 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 me 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.

"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."

The lengths producers went to in order to keep Ryan's return under wraps were impressive, even by Emmerdale's standards.