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Emmerdale's Ryan Hawley promises shocking, "pivotal" twist in Robert Sugden prison flashback

What on earth is about to be revealed?

Aaron and Vic comfort a sad Robert in Emmerdale

ITV

Published: Tuesday, 4 November 2025 at 12:01 am

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Ryan Hawley has promised an almighty twist in Emmerdale's upcoming flashback episode, as Robert Sugden's turbulent time in prison is about to be explored.

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With Robert having married Kev Townsend (played by Chris Coghill) during his years off-screen, the special instalment will include the lowdown on how that came to be.

And, speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press about filming the scenes with co-star Coghill, Hawley left us intrigued by teasing a bombshell that he definitely didn't see coming.

"There's one particularly very nice little twist that neither of us knew about until I read the script.

Kev holds Robert against a wall in prison in Emmerdale

We find out what really happened behind bars. ITV

"I remember reading it and I was like, 'Whoa' because no one had told me that, that was something that had happened, and it is massively pivotal," he explained.

"As far as we know, no one finds out about it so there are some interesting things that they're sewing in this episode for things potentially leading forward.

"For us to have this kind of flashback, it's lovely to have that whole episode to kind of get to tell a story. And this backstory that we got to flesh out."

As for what this twist entails, we'll of course just have to wait and see.

But joining Hawley for the chat, Coghill revealed one of the themes of the flashback edition: "It explains a lot about my psyche towards what I expect from [Robert]."

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"There's a thing that leads into that flashback episode which explains a lot about how our relationship [started] in the first place."

Hawley added: "It was worth doing because, yeah, it's very informative. It kind of explains a lot about the relationship and it's a nice scene, there's nice episodes, nice scenes in it. "

Expanding on what fans can expect, he shared: "There's different time periods. Basically the episode goes from 2021 to all the way up until right before Aaron and John's wedding.

"It's at several different points throughout that time period."

Kev crying on the sofa in Emmerdale

The instalment will delve deeper into Kev and Robert's relationship. ITV

This meant that Hawley's hair went through a variety of different styles to reflect the changing eras.

"I guess they had specific ideas of what Robert should look like at those different stages, because it's like a five year time span, right? So yeah, there are some different looks.

"All me. It's all me," he laughed. "There's no hair doubles or wigs. I do all my own hair!"

Hawley also revealed that the episode shares a theme seen in a previous Robert-centric special.

"This isn't the first time, without sounding really arrogant, this isn't the first time I've had an episode where I've been at the [forefront].

"There was the one where I was in the coma – there was a particular thematic convention that was introduced in that episode, that is also in this episode," said the actor.

If we weren't already filled with intrigue, we certainly are now!

Read more:

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1. Stream on ITVX.

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Authors

Laura Denby in front a white background, she is smiling and looking at the camera

Laura DenbyFreelance Writer

Laura Denby is a Freelance Soaps writer covering all the latest news in the Dales, Cobbles and East End for Radio Times. She's a soaps nerd with a love for comedy drama, and has also written for Digital Spy, Metro UK and Yahoo UK.

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