Behind the scenes of Emmerdale’s 119th wedding ahead of ‘pressure cooker’ episode
As Emmerdale fans prepare for the soap's 119th wedding, the Mirror joined the cast at the village hall to witness Aaron Dingle and John Sugden tie the knot. And, in true soapland style, it's set to be a rollercoaster of a day
Aaron Dingle and John Sugden’s Emmerdale wedding is unlikely to go without a hitch(Image: ITV)
At a Dingle do anything can happen. And Emmerdale’s 119th wedding between Aaron Dingle and John Sugden promises to keep viewers on tenterhooks all week.
What could go wrong? Plenty! Aaron, played by Danny Miller, has been royally hoodwinked by his beloved, John, played by Oliver Farnworth, who, as fans know, m.u.r.d.e.r.e.d Nate Robinson before hiding his body in the lake.
Behind a series of village crimes, including smashing windows, he’s also pretending his ex-boyfriend, Aidan, is d.e.a.d, when really he’s lying in a coma in the hospital. Hardly a match made in heaven!
As the gay couple prepared for their big day, The Mirror was invited on set, to Emmerdale’s village hall, to witness the ceremony being filmed.
We can exclusively reveal that they make it to the altar. Beyond that, our lips are sealed, but here’s a clue …
READ MORE: Emmerdale fans ‘rumble’ Robert Sugden’s reason for return – but it’s not to crash the wedding
The Mirror enjoyed a behind the scenes peek at the tense nuptials(Image: ITV)
“It’s a Dingle wedding, so something is going to go wrong!” warns actress Lisa Riley, 48, who plays Mandy Dingle and is an honoured guest.
“In every single wedding in the history of the Dingles, there’s normally always fighting, someone gets drunk, and someone says something they shouldn’t! And you will get those three contents for sure! There are going to be a lot of shocks.”
As John is haunted by graphic flashbacks of his misdemeanours, most viewers are likely expecting more than a mere wedding brawl.
“There was always something unsettling about John from the start,” admits Oliver, 42, minutes before filming. “But he has met the love of his life, and he is hoping once he gets down the aisle, all his problems will go away. He hasn’t got an outlet, though, to tell the truth about everything, and it’s a pressure cooker out there.”
The lead up to the big day has been somewhat of a ‘pressure cooker’(Image: ITV)
Oliver, who is wearing a fawny brown suit for the wedding, laughs: “I know there has been a lot of speculation online about John, but it’s great that everyone has a view! “What I love about playing John is working out psychologically how he got to this point. Deconstructing him is really interesting.”
For Aaron, marrying John is a chance to find true love a second time, after his first husband, Robert Sugden, was sent to prison.
Aaron hopes to find true love for a second time by marrying John, but things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing(Image: ITV)
“He thinks he has found love again,” explains Danny, 34, who is wearing a lighter cream suit. “There is a lot of confusion on his part, but he is turning a blind eye to what is smacking him in the face.”
Meanwhile, fans have been messaging him, pleading for Aaron to see sense.
“People have been telling me not to marry John, that there is something not right!” he chuckles. “John winds everyone up, but it’s good to have characters where the viewers love to hate them!”
Fans have been pleading for Aaron to see sense(Image: ITV)
While cameras are put in place for the wedding scenes, Danny, Oliver, and Lisa have gathered with the rest of the Dingle actors under a wooden canopy outside the village hall.
It has been decorated with pretty fairy lights to provide an intimate setting, against a white linen backdrop. Three bottles of champagne are waiting on ice, ready to toast Aaron and John.
The Dingle clan is out in force and, as the actors laugh and joke, it’s clear the cast are a close knit team.
The close-knit cast laughed and joked behind the scenes of what proved to be a demanding day(Image: ITV)
Relaxed, they are all word perfect and, despite a demanding day, which sees them arrive at the purpose-built village within the Harewood Estate in Leeds at 8am and work through to 7.30pm, with an hour for lunch.
“It’s a gift to be working on Emmerdale,” confides Oliver, who grew up in nearby Hebden Bridge. “I am loving it. I live in Spain now, and to get the chance to come back to Yorkshire is brilliant. Danny and I have been having a ball filming these scenes. The beauty of Emmerdale is you have the chance to put your own ideas in. It’s a great collaboration.”
Reporter Christine Smith was on set to watch the drama unfold(Image: ITV)
The actor moved to Spain two years ago to set up home with his girlfriend of six years, Samantha Womack, a former EastEnders star.
He takes the commute in his stride, adding: “I reckon you can get to Spain sometimes quicker than London.
“It’s actually worked out fine, as Emmerdale have been really accommodating with the blocks of filming and time off. Whenever there is a gap, I get on a plane and go back home.”
Three bottles of champagne were waiting on ice, ready to toast Aaron and John.(Image: ITV)
Laughing, he confesses the chaos in John’s love life makes him appreciative of his simple, happy life at home with Samantha.
“Even though we have six dogs and it can be pretty chaotic at times, it certainly makes you address things,” he says. “It makes you make sure the balance of work life and play time is right.”
The fact that Samantha is also an actress definitely helps. He adds. “We both understand each other’s schedules.
“I might be here, but that keeps it interesting. If we were both doing a nine-to-five job and saw each other each evening for a few hours, it would be different. We thrive off spontaneity.”
While shooting the wedding scenes, the actors worked from 8am until 7.30pm, with an hour for lunch(Image: ITV)
Danny and his wife of three years, Steph, are also rock solid. The couple, who met at primary school, have two children, Albert, three, and Edith, one, and announced last month that they are expecting their third child.
While Danny is glad that his own domestic arrangements are stable and loving, he finds a character like Aaron, with such a complex love life, a real challenge.
“It’s also nice to step out of being Danny,” he says. “I am a heterosexual, and to play this other man is great. He is gay, proud of it, and he has found who he thinks he is going to be spending the rest of his life with.”
Actor Danny Miller is quite different to his onscreen persona(Image: ITV)
He also reveals how much more he loves being back on Emmerdale, after bravely talking about his mental health struggles in 2023 on the ‘Mancs on the Mic’ podcast, where he confessed he reached rock bottom and suffered anxiety attacks playing Aaron when he was much younger.
“I love it so much now,” he says, sounding at ease. “This is home. It’s a massive part of my life, and it’s important for me to stay humbled and grounded. I am delighted to be part of the show.”
Joining the cast are about 50 members of the backstage crew, including makeup supervisor Cheryl Winterbottom.
She explains that, because John will be seen having nightmares this week as his past catches up with him, because the dream sequences involve different characters, they kept styling simple, apart from for Mandy.
Mandy Dingle, played by Lisa Riley, sports a ’90s kind of Pamela Anderson-style look’ for the ceremony(Image: ITV)
“The only person we could be experimental with at this wedding was Lisa, who plays Mandy”, explains Cheryl. “Mandy is always following TikTok trends, and so we decided to give her a 90s kind of Pamela Anderson-style look! She has a hairpiece, though, that is not quite on properly!”
They even nicknamed the wonky hairpiece ‘guinea pig!’ She says, “We called it this because Mandy has spiked it up! Lisa has a lot of input, too, because she knows what Mandy would wear.”
Lisa, sporting bright makeup and a neon green and black £58 Julien McDonald dress from John Lewis, is very pleased the costume department found her the bargain designer frock.
“We get lots of ideas on TikTok. We talk together through everything,” explains Lisa. “Mandy is an old romantic and loves a wedding!”
There will be plenty of ’emotions flying around’ as Aaron and John say ‘I do’(Image: ITV)
And fans may get a chance to bag the dress themselves, as all Mandy’s outfits are either worn again in later episodes or sold through ITV’s ReLoved eBay site.
Lisa confides that there’s one item from Mandy’s wardrobe that everyone is after.
“The question I am asked most is ‘can we buy a Mandy salon tabard?’ as they want it for hen parties,” she says. “I love this! And I also really like Mandy’s dress for the wedding today – mind you, I will be swapping these high heels as soon as we stop filming for my trainers!”
As she heads back to film Aaron and John’s marriage ceremony, Danny, standing nearby, teases that there will be plenty of twists and turns as the grooms meet at the altar.
“Will they even get married?” he asks, knowingly. “Aaron keeps finding out about John’s lies.
“There are a lot of emotions flying around, and you will have to watch to find out!”
