ITV Emmerdale star Danny Miller discusses soap exit as he pleads ‘please don’t kill me off’

Danny Miller – who plays Aaron Dingle – has opened up about a potential exit from Emmerdale, so soon after he returned to the Dales following a break

Danny Miller has been playing Aaron Dingle in Emmerdale for 14 years, bar a two-year break in 2012 and a short breather after his I’m A Celebrity win.

However, Danny will be tackling a brand new storyline as he finds out next week that he has the faulty BRCA2 gene that he has inherited from his mum Chas Dingle. Chas has decided to have a double mastectomy after her own diagnosis, and following her mum Faith Dingle’s death, and has urged her brothers Cain Dingle and Caleb Miligan as well as her son Aaron to get tested.

As part of this new storyline, Aaron will keep his gene test a secret from his family and Danny has opened up about his own fears for his soap future after learning about the storyline, which will see him grapple with the diagnosis.

Speaking to The Mirror and other press, he said: “My first thought about this story was, ‘I’ve just moved to Leeds, please don’t kill me off!’ There are people who just have bad luck, which follows them. So I knew what they were going to say when it was the three of them [Cain Dingle, Caleb Milligan and his character Aaron] who take the gene test. I remember saying, ‘It’s me that gets it, isn’t it?’

“I don’t think Aaron realises the seriousness of it straight away. Aaron’s always been one of those people who doesn’t like constant eyes and attention on him. If he were to tell people when he’s not dealt with it himself, he’s likely to get a lot of people asking if he’s alright, which is the worst question you can ask him.”

He explained that Aaron will keep things to himself for now, but if he does open up, it will only be with Chas and Paddy, who are the two people he trusts most in the whole village. Aaron has been quite guarded since his return.

“I’ve always been interested in those types of stories that are untouched and untold. But it’s naïve of me to not think about male breast cancer. I spoke to a couple of other people here, males, and they didn’t know about it either,” he added, “So it would be an interesting story. For now, Aaron puts it all to the back of his mind. I know there will be a conversation with Chas at some point. She’s the only person, apart from Paddy, that Aaron would open up to. I hope it’ll be a positive outcome for Aaron, and for me!”