Emmerdale's Danny Miller explains why he quit the soap

Danny Miller has revealed his reasons for quitting Emmerdale.

The actor has been playing Aaron Dingle in the long-running soap on and off since 2008, scooping a number of awards for his portrayal of the character.

But as he prepares to enter the I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here castle in Wales, the new dad confirmed to Digital Spy he's quit the soap and exaplined why.

danny miller, i’m a celebrity get me out of here 2021

ITV

"I've actually left Emmerdale and unfortunately decided to start a new path in life," he said. "I've got my baby now and I'm getting married next year and it felt like the right time to open a new chapter in my life.

"It feels so strange telling people because I haven't really talked about it. I feel quite emotional about it actually."

Danny continued: "It's a massive part of my life and it's taught me loyalty. I've wanted to spread my wings for a while and a show like [I'm A Celebrity] gives me the opportunity to see what else happens after.

"The show is a fantastic money earner, I'm not going to lie, so it gives me the opportunity to be off for a year. So if nothing happens I'll be comfortable and with my family. If new jobs come up, then we'll see."

danny miller with fiancee steph jones posing in front of trees and glass building danny wears check trousers, a long furry coat, flat cap and sunglasses, while steph wears a white knitted dress and long black furry coat

@danny_b_miller//Instagram

Explaining his newborn son Albert was the reason behind his decision to quit, he continued: "Our lives are run by block schedules and life goes really quickly on a soap.

"I've been there 13 years, I had a little break but 13 years ago I started as Aaron. I grew up with him and I feel very protective of him and I think it was time for him to start a new life. We work Monday to Friday, 7am until 7pm so for me, having a new baby and a lot of people on the cast know, it's very difficult to spend much time with them. You don't get a lot of time off if you're busy and for me it was a decision to be in the best position possible."

"When you're in a contract with a fantastic show like Emmerdale, you're at the hands of the storylines, and the writers and that's something I wanted to free them of and free myself of so I could pick and choose and be there with the baby," he added.

Instagram

Danny added that he was hoping viewers would get to see a different side of him on the popular ITV show.

"I'm very different from my soap character, first and foremost I like to have a laugh which poor Aaron doesn’t," he said.

"It's a chance for people to see Danny Miller not Aaron Dingle and I think people get 6 or 7 minute interviews on shows like This Morning or red carpets, but they never really get a feel for who I am stripped back in all my glory.

"I'd like to think I'm very far away from Aaron and that's part of the reason I wanted to do the show."

I'm a Celebrity airs on ITV, and is due to return on Sunday, November 21.