Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw has teased Aaron Dingle's "dark" return storyline.
The popular character made a shocking reappearance in the Dales earlier this week, when it was revealed Aaron was the mystery hostage being kept by his uncles Cain Dingle and Caleb Miligan in the farmhouse.
The soap immediately set a sombre tone for Aaron's comeback when it was explained that Cain and Caleb brought him home because he'd gone off the rails while grieving his sister Liv.
Related: Emmerdale reveals another turning point for Lydia Dingle story in 19 new spoiler pictures
Speaking to Digital Spy and other media, Laura Shaw hinted that viewers will be seeing a very different side to the lovable Aaron this time around.
What to Read Next
"This time he's back as a regular, not just back for a guest stint," Shaw explained.
"We've been working really hard to keep it a secret from our audience. We've been calling him a different name, we've had him driving to work a different way, parking in a secret place. We've been hiding him all over the place and hoping no one finds him!"
The producer then teased: "What you'll see when Aaron comes back is that slightly darker, different Aaron. Last time we saw him in the show, he came back briefly in October 2022 when sadly his sister Liv died.
"What we'll see is just how much that has affected Aaron and how much it's making him push people away. Having been hurt by the loss of Liv, he doesn't ever want to go through that hurt again, so he's lashing out at the world."
"We also saw deep fractures with Chas when Aaron left, so what's going to happen there? I'm pretty sure it's going to be explosive, and given the anger and bitterness that we see coming out of Aaron, I think we'll see that it might damage some other relationships irreparably, maybe," she added. "The anger and darkness will definitely come out in some quite shocking ways, and it's definitely going to put some big cracks in that Dingle family."
As mentioned, Aaron had last been seen in the Dales in October 2022 for Liv's funeral, but left once again after discovering his mum Chas Dingle was cheating on her then-husband Paddy Dingle.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
