John Middleton has hinted that he may make a return to 'Emmerdale'.

The 64-year-old actor's alter-ego Ashley Thomas was tragically killed off earlier this year when he lost his battle with dementia and, although he's adamant there are no plans for his character to come back as a ghost, he has teased that he may return as the vicar's secret twin brother Luke, who has never appeared in the soap but has been mentioned numerous times over the years, in the foreseeable future.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: "There's no hint of Ashley coming back as a ghost but Ashley does have a twin brother called Luke so that could happen."

However, if he does make a return to the ITV show, it won't be yet as he's tied up with some theatre work for the rest of the year after landing a part in 'Strangers on a Train'.

He explained to the publication: "I'm looking forward to the next thing I'm doing - I'm going to be touring a play called 'Strangers on a Train'."

And, at some point in the future, John would love to follow in the footsteps of his former co-star Gemma Atkinson by slipping in his dancing shoes for 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

He said: "I haven't been asked but if they did I would be on it like a shot, I love 'Strictly'.

"Most celebrity things I don't really want to do, I don't want to meet bugs in the jungle but 'Strictly' is different I think - 'Strictly' is showbiz.

"Gemma is a total athlete apart from anything else, she's an amazon and she's a really strong woman so I think she will be fantastic on it."