Jonathan Wrather's return to Ememrdale was kept tightly under wraps in a bid to keep Graham's killer's identity top secret...
Graham Foster's murder has been the sole focus of Emmerdale this week, and as the huge whodionnut episodes are wrapped up tonight, actor Jonathan Wrather has admitted the soap went to unbelievable lengths to keep his return to the soap a secret.
After lining up Charity, Marlon, Andrea, Jamie, Kim, Jai and Al as Graham's prospective killers, it turns out that Rhona's dangerous ex husband is actually the one who finished Graham off... and Emmerdale fans are thrilled to see Pierce Harris back on our screens.
But while we might all still be in shock from the revelation, actor Jonathan has known for some time that his return would be epic.
But at first even he didn't know that his character would become a cold-blooded killer... "I was thrilled to be asked back, but it was funny because Jane, our producer, couldn’t really give me too many details," he told us.
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"I kind of had to read between the lines, I said 'It’s not going to be more of the same, is it?' and they said 'No, it’s much worse than that!' I was like, what’s worse?!"
Once Jonathan had agreed to return as Pierce, the whole things suddenly became very cloak and dagger in a bid to keep Graham's killer's identity a secret... even from the rest of the cast!
"I was shuffling into the side entrance at the studio. Luckily the first number of sequences were on location so it was a little easier, no-one knew where we were and so it was easier to hide... although someone had to hide me with an umbrella and I had a hood to cover me up.
"Half the cast didn’t even know I was coming back because they were getting scripts with Mark TBA in it. They were asking, 'who is this Mark?' Then the penny dropped.
"I have a pass to get me round the studio but it has another name and another photograph which is a bit daft because obviously it doesn’t look like me. My code name was Mark Bloomfield!
"It's great to be back and Pierce is going to be around for a little bit. I can’t say anything about what he goes on to do but there is some very exciting stuff coming up.
"As always, it’s a curveball - the storytelling is great and I’m feeling very fortunate that I’ve been trusted with this."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
