Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) has had a hellish time in Emmerdale of late. When Marlon found out that his beloved daughter, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan)

had been sucked into the depths of a crime ring headed by Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths), he and wife Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) found themselves at her non-existent mercy

and were thrust into a dark world, having to deal with drug and human trafficking, forced prostitution and modern-day slavery.

Will Rhona leave Marlon for Graham?

Following the deaths of both Celia and her lieutenant son, Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), he was hit with a massive, gravel-voiced shock when Rhona’s ex, Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), returned from the dead.

‘That undead rascal!’ Mark chuckled.

Does Mark think Marlon sees Graham as a threat to his family?

‘Given what they’ve just been through with Ray and Celia, I think the timing could not be worse, because Graham could step in and do his special forces thing and deal with a threat that Marlon wouldn’t be able to deal with.

‘So, I think it is a threat. Of course it is, because they were in love, and he died. And she grieved him, but their relationship didn’t end. So, she’s still got all this emotional, romantic baggage that is now still there, because it was there before. That didn’t stop.

‘So, he’s an awful lot for Rhona to deal with. And as a consequence, Marlon recognises that, and it is a threat.’

Does Mark reckon Marlon could hold his own with Graham in a battle for Rhona’s heart?

‘There’s definitely a part of [Graham] that makes [Marlon] feel profoundly insecure.

But on the other hand, I feel like what he can offer Rhona that Graham can’t is the last few years and everything that they’ve been through together, and there’s such a strong emotional connection there.

‘And they have a family. So it definitely could go either way. But I think the emotional side of things, Marlon probably has the upper hand despite the threat that Graham poses.’

Now come on, we’ve all been thinking it, haven’t we? With an utterly palpable spark lingering between Rhona and undead-Graham, will Emmerdale bosses go there and reunite the exes?

‘Anything can happen in soap. I personally would be gutted, because I love working with Zoe, because she’s so brilliant and we get on really well.

‘But, as I’m sure Zoe will attest, anything could happen in soap. But if you’re asking me, as an actor, I’d be sad, because I love working with her.’

Next week sees a special two-hander episode between Paddy and Marlon, where it dawns on Marlon just how much his best friend is struggling.

When Celia’s sick operation was exposed, Paddy discovered that his dad, Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards), had been groomed and used as a slave, while his pseudo son, Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) was also being exploited.

When Bear emerged from captivity when the racket began to unravel and accidentally killed Ray while trying to protect Paddy and Dylan, a new nightmare began to unfold for Paddy after he tried to cover up the crime.

With the truth exposed, Paddy’s looking at a stretch inside for perverting the course of justice, while rapidly being crushed under the weight of everything that’s befallen his family recently.

Seeing how much Paddy is struggling, Marlon comes up with a plan: ‘Well, the first port of call is, “Oh my God. They’re zombies” the video game, which, while Marlon really enjoys it, it doesn’t really work for Paddy.

‘So Marlon has this idea to make that flesh, make it real. He says, “Let’s go and smash things up at Ray and Celia’s”. So, like you do, they take a pair of sledgehammers, and they go there and vent their rage.’

On the special episode between the two long-time besties, Mark said: ‘It’s brilliant. We were really excited. We’ve never had a two-hander before, and obviously the characters are best friends, and we were working together.

‘It’s not a great plot twisty thing. It’s just two men that the audience have seen grow into middle age together – Can’t believe I said middle age out loud – and are there for each other. And I think there’s something really pure about it.’