Emmerdale star Joe Absolom has confirmed a dark storyline for Dylan Penders’ return.

The character was first introduced earlier this year as a friend of April Windsor, who she met while living on the streets. Dylan later arrived in the village in an attempt to get clean from drugs and was last seen in March, on his way to rehab.

Last month, it was announced that Dylan would be making a return to the Dales. Now, it has been revealed that the teenager will be linked to shady newcomer Ray – played by Absolom – who will soon be joining the soap.

Speaking exclusively with Digital Spy, Absolom teased his villainous new role and his dark storyline with Dylan.

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“Well, the character is called Ray. He arrives in the village and he’s always got cash. So you’ve always got to be wary of someone with cash these days,” he explained.

“We don’t quite know why he’s got that cash yet and we’re going to find out slowly. But he starts talking to Dylan, played by Fred Kettle. So I do a lot of scenes with Fred and Amelia Flanagan, who plays April.”

The actor hinted that Ray’s arrival could revisit Dylan’s drug storyline, as the “very small-time crook” makes a beeline for the cannabis grown by Lewis Barton.

“That’s what Ray is there for. That’s what we’re entering into, I think,” he said, adding: “So I think his intentions are bad, at the minute.”

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Elsewhere, Kettle described his role reprisal as “a dream come true”, explaining that “there’s going to be a nice little journey” for Dylan.

“He’s going to bring some of his past experiences back to the village, so yes it’ll be very good.”

Addressing April’s reaction to Dylan’s return, Flanagan remained tight lipped and insisted fans will “have to wait and see”.

“Obviously, we’ve explored their link in the special episode that was aired in February and now I think we’re exploring it further. So it’ll be exciting to see what comes up for both of them,” she teased.