Yahoo News Emmerdale stars reveal "harrowing" future for Aaron
The Emmerdale storyline that Robron fans have been waiting months for is finally here.
Monday and Tuesday's episodes centre around an intimate wedding ceremony for Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle at The Woolpack, with some classic Dingle chaos and a shock visit from the police all threatening to derail the day.
Digital Spy paid a visit to the Emmerdale set in Leeds this week as Ryan Hawley and Danny Miller - who play Robert and Aaron - both spoke openly about all the drama to come.
Read on for their thoughts on the wedding, the ceremony not being legal, and the dark times ahead for Aaron when he's jailed for attacking Kasim.
Do you think it's the right decision for Robert and Aaron to get married at this point?
Danny: "Yeah, definitely. After the journey they've been on, everyone wants them to have a happy ending, I think. It's probably the happiest of endings that they can have, I suppose!
"We knew a while ago that it was eventually going to happen, but then certain things brought it forward a lot quicker than we thought. It's great that it was done in an environment where Robert and Aaron are so familiar with and it's so intimate as well, which I think is fitting for both characters."
Ryan: "It's a comfortable family affair with all the family around, so I thought it was quite nice."
Does part of you worry that getting married would make Robron's relationship less dramatic?
Ryan: "No, it just heightens the stakes in terms of them being married. They'd be more committed to each other and more concrete. There's lots of potential for their relationship. I think it's nice to see two characters who are so in love with each other take that step."
How do you feel about becoming an honorary Dingle, Ryan?
Ryan: "Well I'm not sure I'm an honorary Dingle! (Laughs.) But it's nice that he's getting on with all of the Dingles. It gives me more opportunities to have scenes with different people, which is great. I remember working on the Christmas episode - Christmas with the Dingles was a lot of fun!"
Can you tell us a bit about the wedding itself?
Danny: "Well, the Dingles know Aaron is going to prison and it's going to be for a while. The idea is that he's going to miss all of these seasons, so they cram all of the seasons into one. All these Halloween and Christmas decorations - really tacky stuff - start making an appearance!"
How will it be when Aaron goes to prison?
Ryan: "It's a horrible thing for both of them. Aaron is in prison doing who knows what, while Robert is on the outside and his life is going to be on hold just as much as Aaron's. It's going to be a lot of work for him - he's got Liv to look after too."
Will Aaron have a tough time in prison?
Danny: "Yeah – standard! I think you'll see when it happens, but there's a particular sort of storyline they wanted to make the public aware of. They fitted it in very well with a romantic storyline and mixed it with drama, really. This whole wedding is rushed and brought forward because Aaron is going to prison because of his stupid actions with Kasim and Finn.
"Obviously things get a bit dark for Aaron in there. There will be certain people in there who push his buttons and make his time very difficult, even more so than it would have been.
"Beforehand, the wedding is the perfect place to say they're just one family. Just because Aaron is away doesn't mean that the family is going to fall to pieces. It's a time for Robert to be strong for the family and look after Liv. Chas is there to help out too, but he knows how much of a handful Liv can be.
"It's a difficult time for both of them, but the commitment there will keep them going."
Emmerdale have even built a prison set, haven't they?
Danny: "Yeah, I was aware of it last year and I knew it was going to be some point this year. It's great to go into somewhere and meet new characters that you guys will meet eventually. It really makes Aaron into a dark young man."
So are all of your scenes in a prison set now?
Danny: "We've done some of it and not all of it is at a prison set - some of it is location work. We've done bits in there, but it's going to be a real dark harrowing time for Aaron unfortunately."
How do you feel about Aaron's storylines going in that darker direction again?
Danny: "You expect it - draw the viewers in and then throw it back out to them. With Aaron getting so committed to Robert, Aaron is going to be very positive and thinks he'll get through it when he goes into prison.
"But obviously once he's in prison, things change. It's going to be a really dark time for him and it will be a case of whether Aaron confides in people for some help."
Some viewers aren't happy that the Robron wedding isn't a 'legal' wedding, having been arranged so quickly. Do you think it matters?
Ryan: "It's a bit of paper, isn't it? It's more important that two people are making that step and commitment to themselves. It doesn't matter to them or anyone else attending the wedding. It's more about celebrating their relationship and the love they have for each other. It's like a private thing for them both."
Danny: "They don't need a piece of paper to define that they're married. They're both there and committed to each other, so no, I don't think it's a problem. It's just a bit of paper."
Could Robert try to seek revenge on Kasim for Aaron being in prison?
Ryan: "That isn't something we've seen so far. Robert needs to stay out of trouble. The main thing for Aaron is making sure he doesn't have anything else to worry about while he's in prison. So it's taking care of everything at work, the scrapyard, Liv, the house, and all of that, so Aaron doesn't have to worry about it.
"Robert is trying to prove to Aaron that he's a strait-laced guy now. He loves him and he's there to support him. So revenge wouldn't fit or support that."
At one point, there was talk of Robert and Aaron getting married in Vegas. Do you wish it had happened?
Danny: "Well, we had to think about Aaron's criminal record and all that!"
Ryan: "But Cain was going to arrange a fake passport for Debbie, so it's not all ruled out! (Laughs.)"
Would you say Robert has become less materialistic?
Ryan: "It would seem so, wouldn't it? He's working in a scrapyard and he's not necessarily mucking in, but he's still taking care of the business. I think the character has changed a lot since I came in. He's got a much more romantic storyline now, as opposed to being a duplicitous villain. He's definitely more moral and it's interesting to see that journey."
Are you excited to see the fan reaction to Robron's wedding?
Danny: "I'm interested to see it, yeah. I don't think they'll expect this. I think they'll be expecting something massive, but it has to be rushed purely on the basis of Robert wanting to make the three of them a proper family. There's also the fact that Aaron is going to prison and it could be another year before Robert gets the chance to marry him.
"So if they bear that in mind and also the intimacy of it, I think they'll enjoy it."
Will Paddy put his negative feelings towards Robert aside when Aaron goes to prison?
Ryan: "Well I think Paddy is a moral character, isn't he? And you'd think under the circumstances he'd be sympathetic and understanding towards Robert's situation. I don't really want to go into too much of it but I think it would certainly seem that way."
Ryan, would you like your on-screen brother Andy to come back?
Ryan: "Kelvin's very sorely missed here and we used to share a dressing room. He was great for me, a great character to work with and a great actor as well. I really enjoyed working with him, so I can only say yes to that really. But who knows what's going to happen?"
When Aaron gets out of prison, could there be an even bigger wedding?
Danny: "It's something that we've discussed, actually, just between the two of us, bearing in mind that it was so rushed and people had to go sooner than we expected. The story has been sped up so Lucy [Pargeter, who plays Chas] can be there [before she goes on maternity leave] and Isobel [Steele, who plays Liv] can be there as well [before she takes time off to do exams].
"I just think because of how quick it is, we were discussing that there might be something later on. But that's obviously just our opinion, we don't actually know. Obviously we've got the storyline in prison and there's loads more to come before we even think about it."
Would you have preference on last names?
Danny: "I've been fighting for 8 years to be a Dingle, so…!"
Ryan: "They're both central families in the show, so it would be quite weird for either of them to lose that. I think Robert, other than Diane, is the only Sugden in the show. Victoria's now a Barton. There's Sarah and Jack, but in terms of adult characters in the show, Robert and Diane are the only two remaining and they're the flagship family of the show."
You could have a double-barrel name...
Ryan: "Yeah, Sugden-Dingle or Dingle-Sugden!"
Emmerdale airs Robert and Aaron's wedding on Monday and Tuesday (February 20 and 21) at 7pm on ITV. This final unseen picture shows them sharing a kiss in Tuesday's episode, but is it as husband and husband? Or did the arrival of police mid-way through the ceremony spoil their chance at a happy ever after?
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