Emmerdale star Eden Taylor Draper, who plays Belle Dingle on the ITV soap, admitted she wasn’t told for months about a big return this Christmas, with it initially kept from her

One Emmerdale favourite is set to make an epic return to the ITV soap this Christmas, and the cast didn’t know about it for a good while.

Bosses kept the news from the returnee’s co-stars before finally spilling the beans with just months to go before they returned to set. Belle Dingle actress Eden Taylor-Draper told The Mirror and other press that she was left thrilled, as she found out who was returning this Christmas.

Months ago bosses teased a surprise arrival would head to the village for the festive episodes, sending the rumour mill swirling. Now, Eden has spilled on a big return that is just weeks away, with her beloved pooch Piper finally returning to the show.

Fans will no doubt be thrilled by this, after Belle and Piper, played by the gorgeous Minnie, were torn apart amid her harrowing abuse ordeal. Abusive husband Tom King deliberately ran over their dog before claiming she had died from her injuries.

But viewers soon found out Piper was alive and that Tom had given her to a new family, claiming Belle had not looked after her. It came months on from Tom drugging the dog and pretending she was sick, in scenes that sparked Ofcom complaints from viewers.

The show faced a backlash, but bosses defended the storyline and explained it was to highlight that sadly these situations do happen. Piper has been offscreen for months, but this Christmas she will be back!

One Emmerdale favourite is set to make an epic return to the ITV soap this Christmas ( Image: ITV)

Eden confessed she wasn’t told for a while that Piper would return, after she wrapped up filming in the summer. Teasing the comeback, she told us: “Belle doesn’t think that Piper is alive, but on Christmas Day there’s a Christmas miracle and here she is.”

On if she was told about the return, she said: “I didn’t know! It was only probably a couple of months ago, probably three months ago that I got told she is coming back at Christmas. There was a period when it was just, ‘Is she going to come back? Is she not?’ She had to! Fans would have been in uproar.”

On what leads to Piper returning, Eden explained that Belle has always suspected Tom could have lied and decides to act on this gut feeling. She said: “I think the main thing is, when she never actually saw Piper’s body, she never really saw what actually happened, she was just told. I think she has that in her head and she can’t get it out of her head.

“And he’s obviously lied about so much, so she just thinks, ‘We never saw the evidence. We buried a casket, but who knows what’s in there?’ kind of thing. It’s actually Vinny and Gabby who end up tracking her down.

Emmerdale star Eden Taylor Draper admitted she wasn’t told for months about a big return (Image: ITV)

“They get in touch with the people Tom gave Piper to and explain the situation. They’re like, ‘That is your dog and we’re really sorry for what she’s been through.’”

On the backlash the soap faced over the scenes with Piper and Tom’s violence towards her, Eden said: “I think everyone’s attached to her. Because Minnie’s so great to work with and so easy, it’s been so nice that we’ve had her in so many scenes, she’s always been a part of it. Often if someone’s got a huge dog you’re not going to stick them in every scene because they’re so big or distracting or whatever.

“But Minnie’s been in so much of the journey, she’s been as much a part of it as me and James. So I kind of expected that from the viewers but it has been overwhelming how much everyone loves Piper.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.