Emmerdale star Michael Parr has teased his alter-ego Ross Barton will wreak his revenge, after coming back from the dead.

Soap fans, some of whom had launched a petition to see the character return, finally got their wish when Ross was seen opening his eyes in a hospital bed, after seemingly killed off and buried in a shallow grave during a fight with his elder brother Pete (Anthony Quinlan).

The 29-year-old actor teased there will be more excitement and drama to come between the brothers, as they both battle for Debbie Dingle’s affections – and he is looking forward to rocking the romance between Pete and his new wife Debbie.

“Ross is in a lot of pain as Pete gave him a good beating! He’s got to recover and he’s got to get his head together, but ultimately he’s got two things on his mind – revenge and where’s the love of his life?” he told Digital Spy.

“Ross is furious! It’s a bit of a cold thing to do, especially to your little brother. Ross is always painted as the bad one but he’s never done this to anybody. I think getting Debbie will now be Ross’s revenge against Pete.”

Emmerdale's Debbie and Pete on their wedding day
Debbie married Pete in Emmerdale (ITV)

Michael admitted it hasn’t been easy keeping his return under wraps.

He told The Sun: “I’m not exactly the quietest guy and this has been a massive secret. I was allowed to tell my mum, dad and granddad but I had to lie to my other family.

“My cousins were asking me about leaving and what I was doing next and I just had to try to fob them off. People have been quizzing my granddad. He sent me a text saying I’d made him lie in church.”

The star added: “People aren’t idiots, so some people in my family have asked what I’ve been up to. I said that I’ve been working but I made a story up that I had a new job in a hotel!

“There’s been a bit of speculation that Ross wasn’t dead, so I’ve also been trying to throw people off. I was tweeting lies about going for auditions and stuff like that, so it’s been good fun!

Michael continued: “The reactions I’ve had have been quite funny, actually – I’ve had so many different ones.

“It was funny when people were saying, ‘You’ll get something bigger’ or ‘This is going to be good for you, you’ll get a film off the back of this’. I was thinking, ‘No not really, because I’m still under contract!’.”

Whatever the future holds for Ross, the actor has no plans to bow out from the ITV soap any time soon.

“Ross is like a cat with nine lives. You can’t keep him down so there are going to be fireworks. The writers have still got a few tricks up their sleeves,” he teased.

“I had some amazing storylines last year but this one has been unreal – and it’s not finished yet. We don’t need any more petitions because it looks like Ross is here to stay.”