Emmerdale is reuniting sketchy duo Joe Tate and Dr Crowley, with actor Ned Porteous opening up on his bond with co-star James Hillier.

The villain and the wicked doctor, who teamed up earlier this year to steal Caleb Miligan’s kidney, will come together again in upcoming scenes as Joe awakes in a makeshift hospital with Crowley leering over him.

Though Joe appears to be in great danger under Crowley’s blade, it seems that Porteous and Hillier have a lovely bond on set, with Porteous – who plays Joe – revealing that he was pleased to see the return of his co-star.

“He’s a really lovely guy,” said the actor. “I enjoy working with him – he’s a nice dude and the character that he built is fun. It’s got more dimensions and it serves as a very interesting character going forward.

“Hopefully the audience will like what we do with it because it gets a bit crazy. I’m personally really proud of the work that we did over those weeks. I’m really excited to see how they come out. It was really good fun working on that.”

While the pair haven’t be seen on screen together for a few months, Porteous shared that he knew his character would cross paths with the deadly doctor again, explaining: “We kind of knew on set; everyone kind of knows how long you’re going to be sticking around for.

“It certainly wasn’t a surprise to him [Hillier]. We didn’t know the exact detail of how he was going to be coming back but it wasn’t a complete surprise. It was a nice thing to see him around on the set.”

While Joe will soon be at the mercy of Crowley, Porteous expressed joy at the tables being turned, noting: “It’s brilliant. I think every actor should try and find vulnerabilities and potential weaknesses in their character because it helps them feel more real.

“It’s been more fun playing a real Joe rather than just this stone-cold meanie… You get to play like you’re in charge. And you also get to play [Joe] like the world’s falling apart and [thinking] how [is he] ever going to get out of this hole? It’s been great either way.”