Verity Rushworth to return to Emmerdale as Donna Windsor

Marlon Dingle's heading for emotional turmoil when his ex-wife, Donna, returns to Emmerdale in March.

Donna’s return not only threatens the happiness between Marlon (Mark Charnock) and his fiancee Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy), but Donna's return promises deeper repercussions.

Actress Verity Rushworth, who plays Donna, said: “I'm thrilled to be re-joining the wonderful Emmerdale team. The emotional journey my character is set to experience will be wonderfully challenging to play, and of course working with some of my oldest friends is going to be a real treat.''

Emmerdale series producer Kate Oates said: “I'm delighted to welcome Verity back to the show. Donna left under a real cloud with Marlon - so her return should ruffle some serious feathers in the village. I'm really excited to see the impact she has on the friends and family she left behind.’’

Verity left Emmerdale in early 2009 and then made her West End debut as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray before appearing in a variety of other stage plays.

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.