Soaps Julie Lordan catches up with two Emmerdale stars, Ryan Hawley and Danny Miller
Ryan Hawley, who plays Robert Sugden, is leaving Emmerdale, but not before some dramatic twists and turns, which involve Robert and his partner, Aaron, played by Danny Miller. We get the latest from the two actors
Things are about to come to a head for Robert Sugden and it’s not looking good for him. He attacked Lee but now comes the terrible news that Lee has died. It’s a whole other ballgame, now that he might be tried for murder or manslaughter. Robert and Aaron decide to take drastic action and do a runner.
Ryan Hawley How are things for Robert at this stage?
Robert’s obviously very sad he’s going to be going to prison for some amount of time. Every time he and Aaron try to enjoy what time they have together, he’s always got that weight over his head, knowing that the sentencing is coming up. He is however, optimistic that it is going to only be a short stretch that he’s going to be away for – worst case scenario – a couple of years.
What’s Robert’s initial reaction when he discovers that Lee has died?
It’s shocking, it comes out of nowhere. Victoria comes and says Lee has died and they very quickly start to process what the implications will mean for Robert’s sentencing. He’s admitted guilt to GBH already but now he thinks he will be found guilty of murder. Everything quickly escalates and it leads to Aaron and Robert making a decision to leave the village for good.
Do they have a real plan?
The news has just been broken to them so they haven’t really got a plan; they are going to have to take it as it comes. It means some very emotional goodbyes to some people in the village. The police are on their way so they have to be fast. They really believe they are going to stay on the run and make it work.
And you will soon be saying goodbye for real.
I will miss the show massively, it has been a huge part of my life for the last few years. I love working here, I love the people that I work with and it’s going to be very emotional leaving.
Do you have favourite memories of the show?
I was so lucky to be involved in the big crash scenes in 2016. The underwater scenes that we filmed at Pinewood studios were fantastic to do. There were so many special effects in the crash sequence that week it was probably the biggest thing Emmerdale has ever done and it was amazing to be a part of it. I have been very lucky to be involved in some very ambitious stunts and storylines but that was the standout one: everyone pulled together, we were up against the odds but I really think we managed to pull it off.
Danny Miller How are things for Aaron just now?
Aaron is filled with dread at the thought of Robert going to prison. Particularly because of what happened in their relationship while Aaron was in prison. Their relationship didn’t work, they didn’t cope very well and Robert went off and drunkenly slept with Rebecca. They are aware that Robert might be able to get a few years shaved off for pleading guilty but the problem is he knows that either way he is going down and the court case is coming up fast!
Why do they decide to go on the run?
When they first find out that Lee has died, Aaron knows how the law works and he instantly realises it is now going to be a murder charge. There is no self-defence, so
he knows Robert is going to prison for a very long time. Almost straight away, Liv suggests the idea of going on the run together. It was Aaron’s last resort as he has done it before with Adam. However, Liv mentioning it almost gives it some sort of approval and the decision is made quickly.
How are their goodbyes?
e goodbyes are rushed. You can see that Aaron and Robert almost don’t have time to take it all in due to the panic. ey both say their individual goodbyes but I don’t think they realise this could be the nal time they speak to people; it certainly doesn’t hit Robert until he gets in the car.
Do they truly believe they’ll be able to stay on the run?
e plan is to try and nd a safe place that the police wouldn’t suspect, to give them a chance to arrange passports, money and a plan. I think their plan is to leave in the dead of night but they are making it up as they go along. It’s not a romantic ‘let’s run o into the sunset together!’ ey have had no time to plan this, they just have to grab their things and go. Aaron has connections in France, he has inherited Cain’s contacts so it is possible they could make it work there. He takes control for a change which is nice and Robert is happy to let him do that.
Are you going to miss working with Ryan?
It’s been amazing working with Ryan. It’s been full-on and we sometimes get on each other’s nerves but we just work so well together. We have a level of trust and understanding that I will really miss. We have great chemistry on screen and right from our rst scene I felt that and I guess the producers must have seen it too. I think they saw something in us and decided to take it to the next level and it worked out amazingly. I already miss him and he hasn’t even le yet!
Will the nal RobRon scenes be weird to lm?
We’ve done some of it and there’s real raw emotion there for Ryan and myself. During one of the scenes, it hit me that it’s real and it’s actually happening and there are some genuine tears in there. But the show goes on and it’ll be interesting to see what happens next.