Emmerdale star hints at SHOCK return from the dead after tragic death

Emmerdale icon Michael Praed teased that his character Frank Clayton could return from the dead after being killed off in 2019.

It's not unusual in the soap world for characters to be resurrected, with Kim Tate (Claire King) being one example. But could Frank be next to make a shock return to the village?

Frank was tragically killed in the Sharma sweet factory explosion when he tried to save his daughter Tracy Robinson (Amy Walsh) from the burning building.

The blast was accidentally started by Kerry (Laura Norton) and Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson) as they tried to destroy CCTV footage of Kerry stealing charity money from the factory safe.

Kerry and Amy lied and blamed the fire on Frank — the innocent man they had killed and somehow got off scot-free for the crime.

However, Michael, who recently appeared on Celebrity MasterChef alongside his former on-screen daughter Amy Walsh, revealed that he was sad that Frank was killed off in Emmerdale — but had a surprising thought that could mean he's still alive.

He suggested that he wouldn't be surprised if Frank faked his own death with the help of daughter Tracy as part of a life insurance scam.

Michael told What To Watch: "It wouldn’t be a huge leap to have scheming Frank fake his own death. He could’ve cooked up a fantastic scam with his daughter Tracy to claim millions in life insurance. That could happen!"

This wouldn't be a surprise for his devious character, as he went to prison for fraud and vowed to never return to his old ways. However, this didn't last long when he arrived in the village.

He was tempted back into his shady past when he teamed up with Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) to steal diamonds from Home Farm and again when he took part in a failed scheme with Leyla Harding's (Roxy Shahidi) then-boyfriend Clive to sell fraudulent art.

EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.