Emmerdale’s Mark Jordon has revealed his joy at returning to the ITV soap in the role of Daz Spencer.

The former Heartbeat star last appeared as Dan Spencer’s older brother in 2014 but the character – now homeless – was spotted by Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) on Monday’s show when she went shopping.

Jordon said Daz is in a “really bad place” and is facing “dire straights”.

Daz and Kerry
Daz and Kerry (ITV/Emmerdale)

On returning to the role he played as a guest three years ago, Jordon said he was screaming “yes, yes, yes” when he got the offer.

“I was overjoyed. I had a wonderful time when I was first here, for obvious reasons. Coming into the building and being around the crew was just incredible.

“I love the character, I love the Spencers and it’s without a shadow of a doubt one of my favourite jobs ever.”

He added: “There had been a little bit of conversation, there were a few clues and offers of the possibility, so I spent many months with my fingers crossed hoping please God let that happen.”

While Jordon was only a guest on the soap in 2014, show boss Iain MacLeod said the character will be back “indefinitely” this time around.

MacLeod added: “I liked the idea of expanding Dan and Kerry’s family group and giving another source of friction in their relationship, but it will also give them something more serious to do.

“As much as everyone is brilliant with the comedy stuff I wanted to give another facet to the type of stories we can tell with them. I’ve got a younger brother and I’m sort of the Daz in the relationship, although I hope I’m more trustworthy, so that relationship has always interested me and I’ve always thought there are more territories to explore there,” he said.

“We will get as organically as we can manage to find out a bit more about where they came from, what their family life was like and how their current dynamic reflects what they’ve been through. I love the two characters and it felt like the right thing for the show,” MacLeod added.