Emmerdale's Mark Womack has revealed that he very nearly played a different character.
The actor stars as DI Malone on the ITV soap but recently explained that he auditioned for Emmerdale twice before landing his role as the dodgy copper breathing down Cain Dingle's (Jeff Hordley) neck.
Declining to name which character he first auditioned for but "couldn't do", Mark did note that he also went up for the role of the late Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough).
Given where Graham ended up, we'd say he had a lucky escape!
Related: Emmerdale's Mark Womack reveals advice he received from his wife Samantha over soap role
"I auditioned for a role a few years ago and couldn't do it – I don't want to say which character because it's not fair on the actor playing him," Mark told TV Times.
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"But I can say that originally I went up for the role of Graham. Sometimes, you're just not right for the part and with soap, it's got to be the right fit.
"So, when this came up, I was really chuffed!"
Mark's comments follow Katherine Dow Blyton previously revealing that Harriet is anything but "happy about [Malone] being back".
"She doesn't want to give her concern away," she told Inside Soap .
"She has to tread very carefully to get some answers from Malone without dropping anybody else in it."
With Emmerdale soon set to reveal the truth over Harriet and DI Malone's past, it looks like things are about to get awful tense...
Emmerdale is now airing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7pm on ITV.
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