Emmerdale - Aaron Livesy's father Gordon is revealed to be unwell when he makes his return.

Gordon's first chance meeting with Diane Sugden is when she heads to the hospital for chemotherapy.

When Diane spots Gordon, it doesn't take long for her to recognise him as Chas Dingle's ex-husband.

Gordon then confides in Diane by revealing that he has Hodgkin's Lymphoma and regrets his past mistakes as a father, admitting that he's had time to consider what he'd do differently.

Nervous about reconnecting with his family, Gordon urges Diane not to mention that she saw him. However, when they next catch up at the hospital, Gordon tells Diane that he's finally thinking of getting in contact with Chas and Aaron but needs her help.

Speaking about the Emmerdale story for the first time, Mavers revealed: "Gordon is really vulnerable. He's sitting round dwelling on things he could have done better in his past - including his relationship with Chas and their son. It just makes him re-evaluate everything. They don't know what the prognosis is with his illness yet. He's getting a lot of chemotherapy, so he's just going to see how that goes. After meeting Diane and talking things through, he hatches a plan and thinks maybe he'll get back in touch and make things right, as you do in that situation. I don't think Gordon is a bad man. He's probably a victim of his own upbringing. His relationship with his father was probably very similar to what he's got with Aaron - dysfunctional. Gordon probably came from a broken home and it's just a vicious circle. Gordon has definitely got a short fuse and Aaron's exactly the same as him."

Emmerdale fans will have to stay tuned to find out what happens when Gordon is finally reunited with his family, but his arrival is bound to make waves in the village.

Discussing his own experiences on set, Mavers continued: "Everyone's been really helpful and really nice. It was nice on the first day because there are three or four cameras set up at once, which I've never been used to working with. It's always been one camera, which therefore takes a lot longer.
"At Emmerdale it's very immediate and it's very quick. You've got to be on the ball, you've got to be on your game and you've got to be aware of all the cameras happening at once. It's like a well-oiled machine. I hadn't watched Emmerdale since it was Emmerdale Farm, but I've caught up over the last few weeks and I was amazed at how much the programme has evolved and changed. It was all in and around farms in those days, but it's moved with the times. I was really struck by how good the writing was as well and how quick-moving it was. It was refreshing, to be honest!"

Airs Monday, December 14th