Aaron burns all Mandy’s money!
HE STEALS A WHOLE LOAD OF MONEY FROM MANDY – THEN SETS FIRE TO IT…
“Aaron decides to teach Mandy a lesson!”
There are huge ructions within the Dingle family this week, when it’s revealed that Mandy has been hiding a secret stash of money!
After Mandy pleads poverty and scrounges dosh off her relatives, none of the Dingles are best pleased to discover that she’s in possession of a sack full of cash and casino chips! So, determined to get revenge, Aaron swipes the bag – and burns it…
“Aaron doesn’t like his family being mugged off, and decides to teach Mandy a lesson!” announces Danny Miller, who plays him. “But as you can imagine, when £18,000 worth of cash goes up in smoke, nobody’s going to be best pleased! Mandy’s fuming, because she needs the money for something. Aaron just thinks she’s ripping off his family.”
The trouble kicks off when Mandy and her son Vinny start snooping around Butlers Barn, clearly searching for something that they’ve hidden there. Their shady behaviour raises Chas’ suspicions – and when she rumbles them with the bag full of loot, she’s seething!
“Mandy has done a job over at a casino, where she’s managed to blag a load of chips,” explains Danny. “Aaron takes an instant dislike to Mandy when she arrives, for whatever reason – so when he finds out via Chas that she’s nicked all this money, he wants to take her down a peg or two!
“Aaron also wants to have as much fun with Robert as he can, while he’s still got him here,” adds the actor. “So Aaron takes the chips to a casino where a friend of his works, in the hope of cashing them in. Robert and Aaron enjoy having a bit of money in their pocket, especially as they don’t have very long left together.”
Oblivious Mandy thinks that Aaron is doing her a favour when he offers to cash in the chips, unaware that he’s planning to keep the money for himself! So when she later meets up with him at the scrapyard for the handover, all hell breaks loose…
“Aaron is good at holding his own, and he doesn’t care that Mandy is experienced in this kind of thing,” Danny tells us. “In his head he’s going to nick the money, give Mandy a share of it, and then pay off everyone else in the family that she owes money to – but also keep a bit for him and Robert. He knows Mandy has nicked the money, so there’s no way she can go to the police without dropping herself in it too.”
As angry Mandy flips out about the money, Aaron snaps – and sets fire to the whole bag load of dosh! So has he really sent that much moolah up in smoke? Or could there be more to his stunt than meets the eye?
“Aaron wants Mandy to know that she can’t just come back to the village and think she’s running the family!” grins Danny. “He gives it to her with both barrels. But not everything is as it seems – maybe Aaron has an ulterior motive…”
Hi Danny! It’s clear that Aaron doesn’t like Mandy much, but what’s it been like for you working with Lisa Riley?
Oh, she’s just brilliant! Someone said the other day, “She’s the female version of Danny Miller!” We got off on the right foot from the start, which bodes well for the future. I love working with her, and I love her character.
How is Aaron feeling about Robert’s looming jail sentence?
He’s heartbroken. He’s going to lose the love of his life in the worst possible way. And Aaron has been to prison – we all saw how terribly that went. He’s worried that Robert will go down the same route – and what will that mean for their relationship? Do they wait for each other?
What’s the fan reaction been like since Ryan Hawley’s [aka Robert] departure from the show was announced?
It’s split down the middle. Half the fans are angry that this couple is coming to an end. They don’t understand that every actor wants to go off and spread their wings at some point. The other half are excited to see what Ryan gets up to. They’re just thankful for all the stories we’ve told over the past four years.
With the Robert and Aaron chapter coming to a close, are you excited to film more Dingle family shenanigans?
Definitely! It’s nice to do other things, and I’m really looking forward to what’s coming up with the Dingles. I know I’m going to be working with Jeff Hordley [Cain] again – Cain and Aaron have always worked incredibly well together. I’m also looking forward to Aaron having a bit of a rebellion and seeing his life unfold now he’s lost his one true love.
Who in your on-screen family are you closest to?
I’ve got very close to Isobel [Steele, who plays Liv] and her family. I spend time at her house, and she spends time at mine. We have a very solid friendship. Also Lucy Pargeter and Dominic Brunt [Chas and Paddy] are my go-tos – when I first came in as a kid, they looked after me and mentored me, and I can’t thank them enough.
What will it be like to film those final ‘Robron’ scenes?
We’ve done a lot of the goodbye scenes already – there was real, raw emotion in there, and a genuine tear or two! Ryan and I have been close for a good four years, and it won’t be the same without him.
But the show goes on – and it will be interesting to see what happens to Aaron next…
“Aaron has been to prison, so he’s worried for Robert”