Andy Sugden, and, by extension, Kelvin Fletcher grew up before Emmerdale fans eyes over the course of his 20 year stretch on the soap, appearing between 1996 and 2016.

Fans were utterly heartbroken when Kelvin announced that he’d be departing the Yorkshire Dales to focus on a career as a rally driver after two decades of high-octane drama.

Since his departure, Kelvin has starred in Death in Paradise, the Teacher and Moving On, as well as buying a plot of land in Cheshire with the hopes of turning it into a farm, resulting in Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure on the BBC, and later Fletchers’ Family Farm on ITV.

With the show returning for a new series, Kelvin and his wife Liz found themselves on This Morning’s couch to discuss what’s to come, with Alison, of course, enquiring about a possible return…

20 years of Andy Sugden

Andy (then-Hopwood) initially debuted as the foster child of Jack (Clive Hornby) and Sarah Sugden (Alyson Spiro) and struggled to fit in with the already-established farming family.

When his birth-father, Billy Hopwood (David Crellin) arrived in the village, determined to win his son back, Andy turned away from the Sugden clan and moved in to a caravan with his dad.

Though he’d promised to change, Billy returned to a life of crime, culminating in a robbery of the post office – and the murder of its owner, Vic Windsor (Alun Lewis),

The Sugdens imploded following Sarah’s affair with Richie Carter (Glenn Lamont) and, with the farm facing financial ruin, Andy decided to torch a barn for the insurance pay out, unaware that Sarah and Richie were inside. Though Richie survived, Sarah perished in the flames.

Andy soon became involved with Katie Addyman (Sammy Winward), who’d become his on-off love until her death in 2015 (more on that later), though their initial marriage was scuppered when she began an affair with his brother, Robert Sugden (then-Karl Davies).

Andy later fathered Sarah Sugden by Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) and though he and Katie attempted to make things work following the revelation, he later cheated on her and left her for Jo Stiles (Roxanne Pallet).

When Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) learned the truth behind her mums death, Andy was sentenced to prison for manslaughter and he wed Jo while incarcerated. Upon his release, however, he became abusive and violent toward his new-wife and, when his behaviour became public knowledge, she fled the village.

When Sarah developed fanconi anaemia, Andy and Debbie determined to have a ‘saviour sibling’ who could provide her with the bone-marrow transplant she desperately needs to save her life, while he later entered into a dramatic love triangle with mother-daughter duo, Amy (then-Chelsea Halfpenny) and Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) and has a fling with Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles), before ultimately reuniting with Katie.

When Robert (now-Ryan Hawley) returned, the feud between the two brothers hit a fever pitch, with Katie equally as involved in trying to bring him down, leading to a final showdown in which Katie discovered Robert’s affair with Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller). Desperate to keep the affair secret, Robert shoved Katie and she fell through the floor, breaking her neck and instantly dying.

After plotting to murder Robert upon finding out of his involvement in Katie’s death, Andy found himself deeply embroiled with the twisted White family, in particular, Chrissy (Louise Marwood), Robert’s ex-wife.

Chrissy, the epitome of ‘hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned’ tried to frame him for several crimes upon discovering that he’d cheated on her with Bernice.

With few allies remaining and desperate to avoid prison for crimes he didn’t commit, Andy turned to Robert for help, who sourced a fake passport for him and helped him go on the run.

Kelvin Fletcher’s return to screen

Kelvin and his wife Liz, alongside their children Marnie, Milo, Mateusz and Maximus, are returning to screens for a new series of Fletchers’ Family Farm, which picks up in the aftermath of a fire that occurred on their farm while the family were on holiday.

‘We took the whole family away and a few days in, we got a call saying the house was on fire. Our first reaction was ‘thank god we weren’t here” Liz said on the tragedy.

‘It was the stuff of nightmares’ Kelvin added. ‘Our neighbour called us. She was in a panic and the fire was roaring. The fire brigade was called. It was surreal. We were in another country, there was nothing we could do.’

Viewers will get to see the aftermath of the blaze and how the Fletcher family rebuild their livelihood in the new series.

Will Kelvin Fletcher return to Emmerdale?

While interviewing Kelvin, This Morning’s Alison Hammond broached the topic of a potential soap return. ‘

There are rumours that your character might be coming back, I don’t know if it’s true,’ she pressed.

‘There always seems to be those rumours,’ Kelvin replied. ‘I think Emmerdale’s in a fantastic place at the minute. And like many, we’re viewers, we’re fans of the show, and it’s always different now to watch the show that I was in for 20 years. I had some amazing memories there, but I think I’d be too busy. I don’t think I can stand that two-hour commute, first and foremost.’