Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale star Bradley Johnson has spoken to Digital Spy about Vinny Dingle's big new storyline.
Vinny is about to take centre stage in the ITV soap as his long-lost father Paul Ashdale, played by former Coronation Street star Reece Dinsdale, starts making his mark in the village.
Last night, Paul discovered that his ex-partner Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) had lied to him about Vinny's whereabouts.
Next week, Paul goes behind Mandy's back by sneakily getting a job at the local scrapyard, where he'll be working alongside Vinny. In the initial scenes, Vinny is oblivious to the newcomer's true identity.
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Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about what's to come, Bradley explained: "The story is brilliant. Vinny is finally settled into the Dingles and sees himself as part of the family now. So I was always wondering: 'What's going to happen next? What twists and turns are we going to see?'
"I was over the moon when I heard that Vinny's father was coming in, because there's so many avenues they could take the story down.
"I found out about a week before Reece came into the village that he'd be playing the role of Paul. I was one of the last people to know, so it was a nice surprise!
"There were so many rumours flying around on set over who'd be playing Paul. There were some silly suggestions like Rick Astley and Peter Kay! But Reece is a fantastic bloke and an amazing actor, so I'm dead chuffed with the outcome."
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On next week's scenes and beyond, Bradley continued: "Paul comes to the scrapyard calling himself 'Alex' and Vinny just thinks he's a random guy. Vinny sees him as a friend – someone he can have a laugh with.
"That all adds to the tension, as the whole thing is bound to explode when Vinny finds out. It's brilliant, because there's so many different secrets. Vinny has no idea that Mandy has already seen Paul. Mandy also doesn't know that Paul is still in the village.
"That's why, when Vinny does find out, it's sure to be a massive bombshell. All I'm going to say is that it'd be pretty explosive!
"I feel like it would upset Vinny, because things are finally going well for him. He's finally got a purpose and a place where he feels happy. If anything disturbs that, he's going to lose his cool a little bit.
"He'd want answers over what happened all those years ago. There's so much of Vinny's past that the audience don't know. I think he'd also be annoyed that he's been lied to by Mandy."
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Emmerdale had already shot the first few weeks of this storyline when filming for the ITV soap was paused last month.
Speaking about the halt in production, Bradley told us: "Reece had only been there for a month or two. He's great and we were getting on like a house on fire.
"The scenes were getting better, the relationship was building and then COVID-19 happened. But we managed to get a lot filmed, so we'll see the friendship forming. We managed to get about a month done and it just adds to the suspense for when we do go back."
Bradley first appeared in Emmerdale at the beginning of last year, when Lisa Riley returned as Mandy for a handful of episodes. When Lisa then returned permanently later in the year, Bradley was also brought back as a regular cast member.
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Friday's episode (April 17) saw Vinny drink from the iconic Dingle welly at Sam and Lydia's wedding reception, cementing his position as part of the family.
Bradley added: "It's brilliant to be a Dingle. They are soap royalty! It's an amazing family to be part of. Vinny respects the Dingles, they respect him now and it's a really nice position for him to be in.
"I love working with Lisa Riley – she's a dream. From the moment I met her, she's just made me feel completely at home. Obviously she knew a lot of people at Emmerdale from being there 18 years ago. She's the most down-to-earth, loveliest person you'll ever meet.
"I've honestly made a friend for life – we FaceTime daily, even during this lockdown. We have a laugh and she's a joy to be around.
"The rest of the cast are great too. I love working with James Hooton (Sam), Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle), Karen Blick (Lydia) and Sam Hall (Samson). We have 'Dingle days' where we're all working together for 12 hours.
"There's not one person I've met who hasn't been lovely."
Emmerdale currently airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7pm on ITV.
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