Emmerdale's Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) has made a wary promise to Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) after striking a game-changing deal to buy The Hide from Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham).
Robert joined forces with Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) to find Jimmy's hidden £150,000, but he has no plans to split the money with her. Instead, he has designs on swiping The Hide from under Gabby, who is facing financial ruin.
Robert's Ambitious Plans
'Robert's ambitious and he wants to expand', star Ryan Hawley said. 'He's got designs on making something of himself, which is consistent with him all throughout his time in the show. He sees an opportunity.'
Robert spots Gabby at Jimmy's grave and uses it as an opportunity to play mind games, telling her to make it up to Nicola through actions and not words. Nicola is worrying about money when Gabby approaches her with a thought – she wants to give Nicola the money from the sale of the Hide.
Aaron Forces a Promise
Aaron is bemused to see Gabby and Laurel handing the keys of the Hide over to Robert, who is full of glee. Aaron forces him to make a promise – that he must stop scheming once the sale goes through. He is finding this level of deviousness unattractive and risky.
'Aaron anchors Robert with the every day man moral compass', Ryan explained. 'That's good for him to have. It keeps him in check. Aaron being Aaron persuades Robert from going so far.'
What's Next for Robert?
Robert is excited for the re-opening and his chance to launch his new business, but a conversation will send things awry. Buying a café restaurant is not a cheap purchase, and it is not going to go under Sadie's radar. What will she make of Robert's sudden massive investment when Jimmy's money is still missing?
Reflecting on how Emmerdale has recently reignited the Sugdens, Ryan said: 'I am loving being the figure head for that. It's been a lot of fun. We have a great group of people that we are working with. Am I allowed to say this? Cut it out of not. We have seemingly never-ending bedrooms upstairs with characters living in what is now called Emmerdale Farm.'
'I'm sure there's like a dozen of us. There's so many scenes in our kitchen where It feels like the house is full. Everybody's busy, got to be somewhere. Everybody's got something going on. It's great. I feel really blessed to be amongst that.'
