Original Emmerdale cast member Frazer Hines says he wants to come back from the dead and return to the soap.
The actor, 74, played Joe Sugden in 1,500 episodes from the premiere in 1972 until he quit in 1994.
Bosses killed Joe off in a car crash in Spain in 1995, despite Frazer begging them to keep him alive.
He said: “The fans always want me back, they say, ‘Why don’t you come back for six months as a guest.’ And I would do that.”
Frazer admits he would be up for a short comeback as he has always been disappointed that he was not able to bow out on screen, and insists it would be believable.
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He said: “I left Emmerdale because I got sick of going to work when it was dark and coming home when it was dark, I’d just got married and owned a stud farm. And so I said I would leave.
“Then, 18 months later, I met the producer and he said, ‘We are thinking of bringing you back in six months’ time.’
"And I said, ‘Well, I’m doing this, that and the other.’ And he went, ‘Well if you don’t come back we’ll kill you off.’ So I said, ‘Don’t kill him off, leave him in Spain.’ And they killed him off in a car crash.”
He added: “Fans say ‘because it was the Spanish police investigating, it might not have been your body’.”
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Twice-married Frazer appeared in TV shows such as Dalziel and Pascoe and Outlander after leaving Emmerdale.
He still acts and has been in a number of independent films.
When not acting, he attends Dr Who conventions to meet fans and sign autographs.
He played companion Jamie with second Doctor Patrick Troughton between 1966 and 1969.
Frazer admitted he does not watch current episodes of Emmerdale but enjoys the repeats on ITV3.
He said: “I just don’t want to do five episodes a week, on a treadmill all the time. I have a
great life.”
