The owners of the dog who plays Piper in Emmerdale have hinted at a return

for the adorable pooch. Piper disappeared from our screens a few months ago

after Tom King (James Chase) orchestrated a plan to make Belle Dingle

(Eden Taylor-Draper) think she had died. Little Piper could return (Pictures: ITV) Tom hit Piper with his car and later made out to Belle that he had spotted her at the side of a road. After staying up all night with Rhona (Zoe Henry) attempting to save the dog, Tom broke the news to Belle that Piper was dead. But that wasn’t true. After Tom, Belle, Lydia (Karen Blick) and Sam (James Hooton) held a memorial for Piper, it was later revealed that Tom hadn’t murdered her. The abuser was seen visiting a house and handing Piper over to a couple. He explained her owner wasn’t very kind, and that Piper would be much better off in their care.

As time has ticked by, Belle has remained completely oblivious to the truth about her dog – but that could all change soon. Speaking to The Sun at this year’s Inside Soap Awards, the owners of the dog who plays Piper said ‘She is alive – you never know!’, when asked if Minnie could reprise her role. ‘I cried. I cried watching them even though I was there when they were being filmed’, the owners said, reacting to Piper’s involvement in Tom and Belle’s storyline. ‘So I know she was never under any stress but their editing work was amazing. The editing is incredible.’

Yesterday, Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) made an unexpected discovery about Tom. She had access to his tablet after Isaac (Bobby Dunsmuir) stole it from Tom’s cousin Carl (Charlie Munro Joyce). Taking a look at the files, Moira was horrified to find confirmation Tom had been watching Belle in Dale Head through hidden cameras. Desperate to tell her, Moira ignored the rules surrounding not driving because of her tumour, and took off in a Land Rover. However, Moira ended up getting lost and having a seizure in the woods. After she was found by Mack (Lawrence Robb) and taken back to Butlers, Moira was unable to remember anything from her morning, which left Belle feeling completely hopeless.