Emmerdale actor opens up on 'love' for 'amazing' co-star as he returns after six years

s Ross Barton actor Michael Parr has dished on his explosive comeback to the ITV soap after a six-year break.

Ross stepped back into the Emmerdale scene as Billy Fletcher's (Jay Kontzle) mystery boxing match rival in the episode aired on Monday (October 28), stunning viewers and characters alike.

Billy Fletcher, who is keeping dark secrets from his spouse Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley), was seen involved in underground fights to secure money for his family, a fact unknown to her.

His mates Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) had tried to persuade him to quit, but to no avail. Billy remained unaware that his adversary is none other than the former lover of Mackenzie's wife Charity Dingle (Emma Atkin).

Ross, who also shares a child, Moses Dingle (Arthur Cockroft), with the village, has his ties there through still-present relatives like Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) and Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano).

Michael Parr opened up about Ross's return and his character's feelings upon encountering these family members again: "He left on a good note with Moira. I think because they had both tried to kill his mum, so they had things in common! And she'd always been somebody who looked out for Ross."

Revealing his personal bond with co-star Natalie J Robb, Parr expressed: "My relationship with Nat [J Robb] is amazing. I love that woman.

"She's been so maternal to me. She's not changed at all. But she's got her own storylines going on, so she's busy with that. It's going be nice to have them on screen again, and I hope that there's a lot more work down the line, because I really love working with Nat."

Michael has expressed his excitement about reuniting with a fellow soap icon, revealing: "I have a real soft spot for Jeff Hordley [Cain], I bump into him once a year, and it's always at Glastonbury. He's such a music head, and I pretend that I'm a music head."

"I love hearing him talk about his music. I just nod my head and pretend I know what he's talking about, because, to be honest, I like old rap music, and I haven't really evolved with the times. But he's a good person to talk to and find out what's cool at the minute."

"But everybody here, it's been so amazing to just see people and hear their life story. It's been so nice to rekindle with people and hear people's stories and find out what's going on and tell them all of my stories as well."

Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 7.30pm and available to stream from 7am on ITVX