Emmerdale fans will have been on the edge of their seats since last night, as viewers saw Aaron fight sex abuser Anthony Fox - only to later fear he had killed him.
While the drama was on screen, the real battle was being fought behind-the-scenes as it marked actor Danny Miller's biggest and heaviest storylines since his return to the soap - two years after his debilitating panic and anxiety attacks saw him decide to quit.
Previously the three-time Soap Award winner would struggle so much when filming such dark scenes, he feared he would pass out. But now Danny, 34, admits he’s found a perfect tonic to protect himself and his mental health: His new wife and children.
In an exclusive interview, Danny explains: “This dark storyline has been very hard to film. But I’m far better at leaving work at the studio door compared to when I was younger. I was affected by it back then. But now, you get home and you see the smile on the kids’ faces when they run to the door to give you a hug - and you soon forget about it.”
It’s a big change from 2021 when Danny left Emmerdale having played Aaron on an off since 2008, after which he was left in a dark place. He had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression six years earlier - after going to the doctors with what he thought was a thyroid problem - but admitted things had been particularly tough during lockdown.
“I’m not gonna sit here and lie and say, ‘I wanted to kill myself,’ but I certainly thought it would be easier if I wasn’t here," he admitted on Ryan and Adam Thomas’s Mancs on the Mic podcast at the time. Adding about his difficulties on Emmerdale, he added: “They go, ‘Stand by’, and my brain’s going, ‘You’re gonna f*** this up, you’re gonna f*** this up’. I’m sweating and I go, ‘Sorry, you’ll have to cut there’. I had it loads when I’ve got a big scene and I’ve gone, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna pass out’.”
Two years later, Danny decided he was ready to return to Emmerdale in October 2023. He’d had some emotive scenes during Chas Dingle’s cancer plot. But it’s the new child abuse storyline which has been the real test as Danny is in some major scenes. To recap, Anthony is thought to have been abusing his daughter Ruby, and Danny’s Aaron - having been abused by his own father - feels a responsibility to help bring him to justice. Until, that is, Anthony’s found in a pool of blood and Aaron fears he’s taken things too far.
This time round, Danny’s feeling far more able to cope with the emotional impact of the storylines - thanks to wife Steph, who he married in 2022, and their children Albert, three, and Edith, one. “Without Steph, I wouldn’t be here in Emmerdale,” he tells us now. “Steph is very good at checking in and making sure I am ok, which helps a lot. I know Steph has everything under control at home. She was born to be a mum and she is amazing.”
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Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)Danny first met Steph Jones in primary school, but they only became a couple in 2019. Danny proposed at a candlelit beach dinner in St Lucia in January 2021 - a trip Steph had booked for his 30th birthday celebrations. A month later they found out they were expecting their first child together. They had both suffered with mental health issues in the past, and claim to have “saved each other” - a sentiment Danny shared during his speech when they married in Cheshire in 2022.
Now, he says, there are no downside about returning to the soap. “I’ve definitely got no regrets. It was the best decision Steph and I made,” he tells us. “I really appreciate the fact that Emmerdale gave me this chance. I’ve got a lot of friends who are struggling at the moment. I love playing Aaron again.”
Next week viewers will see Aaron tell Ruby he killed her dad - even though we know there are multiple people who could have actually delivered the fatal blow. While Danny is keeping tight-lipped about what will happen next in the abuse storyline, he admits he feels a huge responsibility to get it right, as it's one “people will watch and will be affected by”. He knows what he’s talking about - his character came out as gay in 2010 and it’s helped thousands of viewers.
“I still get people coming up to me now talking about Aaron coming out. Even though it is a long time ago now, I’m still really proud of it because we played against stereotypes and it helped to change perceptions,” he says. “I can remember when Gavin, who was a dear friend and our producer, gave me the opportunity. He told me it would change my life. He sadly died many years ago but I can still remember how proud I was that he’d given me the story and I’ve never looked back.
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ITV)“So many people come up regularly saying: ‘what we love is the fact that you play this hard man who happens to be in love with a man’. It was a big risk at the time but I will always be very grateful.” The Dingles are Danny’s ‘second family’ and even have their own WhatsApp group. He was devastated when Steve Halliwell, the actor who played Zak Dingle, passed away in December 2023.
“It’s lovely to be part of the Dingles,” adds Danny. “Steve Halliwell, God rest his soul, was the one who made the Dingles who they are today. They are all very loyal. We have that real family feel and we have our own WhatsApp group message.”
Away from the soap, Danny says he is determined to embrace every spare second with Steph and his two kids. Weekends, he says, are devoted to non-stop family activities. “We are always out exploring,” adds Danny. “At the weekend, we pack a lot in with family stuff!”
As well as devoting himself to his family, Danny also takes part in other TV shows when he can. He did, of course, triumph on I’m a Celebrity in the first ever Welsh edition during the pandemic in 2021 and he admits being crowned ‘King of the Castle’ will always have a ‘special place’ in his heart. “I went in with no game plan,” he recalls. “I was so lucky people voted for me. It’s the only time I haven’t watched the series!”
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Kieron McCarron/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)He didn’t have quite so much success, however, earlier this month when he took part on Mastermind, coming last with just ten points. His glum facial expression became a meme on X, formerly known as Twitter, with many berating Danny for ‘sulking’ and being a ‘bad loser’. Today Danny admits even his wife asked him why he looked so miserable.
“Steph said to me: ‘why did you look like that? It looks bad’,” he says. “The truth of the matter is I was embarrassed and really gutted I hadn’t got more points. I can’t hide my feelings! I didn’t want to let myself down and make a fool of myself. But there were smarter, wiser celebrities against me.”
So would he like a rerun on Mastermind? Definitely not, comes the swift reply. “No, I will never go back on that show! It’s hard,” he confesses. “I do enjoy doing quizzes – but maybe I will do something a bit more laid back like The Chase.”
Meanwhile Danny has no plans to quit Emmerdale - ever again. But with so many big name departures recently he takes nothing for granted. “You only sign a year’s contract at a time. There could be a day where they say: ‘there won’t be another year’s contract after this’, which would be a horrendous meeting to have,’ he admits. "But I will always respect that this could be a possibility. It makes you enjoy the job even more not knowing when it could or could not come to an end. I never take anything for granted.”
Emmerdale runs weekdays on ITV1 and STV at 7.30pm. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.
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