Graham Foster’s Emmerdale return has had fans in shock (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Emmerdale villain Graham Foster’s (Andrew Scarborough) return from the dead may be the soap shock of the year, and it happened just 5 days into 2026.

Viewers believed the character had been killed off in 2026 when he was murdered by Pierce Harris – but now it seems that it was all a lie.

We first learnt that Graham was alive and well during the Corriedale crossover, when he was held up by the multi-vehicle pile-up. Not ideal, given that he had a woman tied up in the back of his van.

Whatever plans he had for his captive were quickly forgotten when he realised that Joe Tate (Ned Porteous), who he’d viewed as a son, was caught up in the crash. As he left the van to investigate, his prisoner escaped, and while stood at the door of Joe’s hospital room, he ‘terminated the contract’ – whatever that’s supposed to mean.

The revelation that Graham was alive came as a huge surprise to viewers, which actor Andrew Scarborough revealed was the most ‘amazing’ part of his return.

‘It was amazing that it kept quiet. I thought it was going to spill, as I was filming for two months before I was seen on screen in Corriedale and I had known I was coming back for a further 4 months before that as well. So I have had 6 months of secrecy.’

Graham returned in the Corriedale crossover (Picture: ITV)
He explained that he even kept his return a secret from a lot of his family members, and detailed the lengths he went to to hide Graham’s return.

‘I had to come and go through the special entrance, I wore a hood, or a hat, and I probably looked very suspicious actually. Also I was left off the billings so fans couldn’t read ahead that I was back on the cast list.’

Some viewers were left confused when subtitles for Corriedale suggested that Graham was actually a character called Bruce, which Andrew explained was another way to cover up the return.

‘In all documentation and scripts I was called Bruce. It was rather funny as when Laura Shaw, the producer, called me to tell me I was being given a code name, I felt very flattered because she said, “we’ve got a code name for Graham. It is Bruce Wayne”.

Graham has a lot of explaining to do, and Rhona Goskirk is set to get answers tonight (Picture: ITV)
‘So I went back to my partner and said, “Oh, you know, the code name that they got for me is Bruce Wayne”. But when I got to the studios on the first day, I saw the name down as Bruce Forsyth. So that was the first wind up from some of my old friends, very funny.’

As well as viewers, there are a number of characters who are set to be shocked by Graham’s return, including Joe and Kim Tate (Claire King).

‘I think technically, Kim [would be the most shocked], because she was the only one at my funeral. She thought she had cremated me. So she’ll be the most shocked, because she actually physically was there to witness what she thought was my body in the coffin.

‘But Kim wouldn’t show her shock as she’s a cool cat. Joe is shocked, obviously. Rhona would be surprised, because she’s not involved in that dark world at all.’

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Thankfully, fans are set to finally get some answers to the questions surrounding man of mystery Graham in tonight’s episode, when he reunites with Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) and explains everything.