Emmerdale - Nikhil is called back to the village by his father Rishi, who is desperate to get the family business back on track.

Nikhil's brother Jai has recently caused problems at the sweet factory due to his drug habit, leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces.

Confirming that Nikhil will only be in the village for a guest stint, Makarem explained: "There is a specific reason for Nikhil returning and we'll see how that plays out, but I'm really happy with the storyline. It was absolutely the right decision to be involved in a very successful phase in the show. I can only congratulate Emmerdale for how well it's done and hopefully I can match the standard that other people have set!"

Rik's return as Nikhil will allow fans to see a new side to the character, who has changed thanks to his business achievements in Canada.

"What we all loved Nikhil for was that he had a tendency to let his OCD come out, but now we've softened that a little bit," Makarem commented. "What we saw was that under moments of high stress, that disorder would really manifest itself. While he's been away, Nikhil has learned how to be a single father and perhaps he's now got a handle on that. He's definitely returning as a much more grounded and strong individual. He's also not as rigid as he was before. That was a wonderful quality to play back then, but there has to be this development. What I'm really thrilled about is that Emmerdale's producer Kate Oates has allowed Nikhil to take a leadership role in some of the scenes and the storylines. When we revisit Nikhil on screen, that will be quite evident."

Despite the change, there's also a chance that Nikhil's progress could be thwarted as the village holds so many bad memories due to the tragic death of his wife Gennie.

Makarem said: "Nikhil's return opens up a door of many different emotions. It resurrects his feelings about Gennie's death, but also his angry feelings towards Debbie. Potentially that could be traumatic. It's also a shock to him when he finds out the news about Jai's drug habit, but his first impression is that the family can sort it. He would rather avoid being part of this family trauma, so that he doesn't have to deal with his own conflicts and history in the village."

Airs  Thursday, October 29th