Emmerdale’s Danny Miller tells Soaplife why Aaron beats up the man he loves
Things get more physical between Aaron and Robert (Ryan Hawley) - but this time it’s violent, not passionate. Robert comes off worse, but will the pair kiss and make up?
“Aaron’s biting back,” says Danny. “It’s an almighty outpouring of anger which has built up during weeks of stress.”
Is it the stress that has Aaron running so much?
“Yes. It’s his way of dealing with the grief and inner angst over Katie’s death. Aaron doesn’t deal with guilt well, he hurts himself - and the running is a form of self-harm. He’s punishing himself. You think he’s running for the fun run in Katie’s name, but it’s a way of easing his guilty conscience.”
Does Robert realise the agony Aaron is in?
“Not at first. He’s in his own bubble, but there’s a moment where Aaron has pushed himself so far with the running, he’s throwing up and Robert sees this. Aaron’s embarrassed and really defensive and says, ‘Have you had a good look?’”
How do they end up fighting?
“Robert realises that Aaron needs to punish somebody else and says, ‘Stop taking it out on yourself, take it out on me’. There’s a certain amount of care there towards Aaron on Robert’s part. Aaron takes him up on the offer and batters him - it’s been a long time coming! A lot of people have tweeted me to say that Robert needs a good whack. But it’s more than just beating him up. Aaron does his knuckles in, because he punches Robert so many times.”
Does it resolve anything?
“Aaron does pour out his heart and tells Robert that he’s used him. But he can’t walk away from him.”
Why doesn’t Aaron confide in Chas?
“It’s always a long path to get Aaron to open up. Chas [Lucy Pargeter] is showing an interest in his life, but it backfires. The only person he would speak to is Paddy [Dominic Brunt] and you do see Paddy try to nurture and father him. Chas wants to be that person, though, and will do whatever she can to achieve that.”
Emmerdale, ITV.
