Emmerdale star Joshua Richards addressed his future on the ITV soap - after his character Bear Wolf returned in recent dramatic scenes.

Bear featured in a horrific modern day slavery storyline, where he was captured and put to work by traffickers Celia (Jaye Griffiths) and Ray (Joe Absolom).

Prior to being killed by Ray, evil Celia claimed she had murdered Bear - leaving viewers distraught.

But last Thursday's (January 22) episode revealed Bear was, in fact, still alive as he rescued son Paddy (Dominic Brunt) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle).

Ray had trapped both Paddy Dingle (Dominic Brunt) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) in their living room and the situation appeared to be dire.

However, Bear intervened and killed Ray in a surprise attack, despite Paddy and Dylan begging him to stop.

Since then, the pair have helped Bear cover up the killing - but will they be able to keep it a secret?

Speaking to Metro, actor Joshua opened up about where Bear's storyline is going from here - and what that means for his role in Emmerdale.

He shared: 'How he moves on I don’t know. It’s a painful process and I’m looking forward to the complexities with the writers and producers and the directors to find out where the journey goes next and what pathways we’re going to go down.

'We’ve just been filming stuff already today and I’ve been shouting at Paddy. 

'So maybe he’s getting back to his old self if he’s shouting at people! But he’s still not right and this will take some time.'

Continuing, Joshua added: 'The relationship between the two is an ongoing one – sometimes tenuous, sometimes loving, sometimes difficult, sometimes exhilarating.

'I’m so fortunate to be having the pleasure and honour of working with the wonderful Dominic Brunt [who plays Paddy].'

Joshua began playing Bear in 2019, for a storyline where Paddy discovered the famous wrestler was his biological father.

Last summer, Bear revealed that he was leaving to spend some time with friends in Ireland.

A harrowing twist months later revealed he hadn't left the village and was enslaved by Celia and Ray.

Speaking previously in an interview with producers, Joshua explained that he spoke to the Salvation Army and met people who had found themselves in similar situations as part of his preparation for the role.

He warned viewers at the time: 'A lot of people say, well, I'd never be scammed, for instance, online. But so many people are and they are intelligent and bright.

'And that is what we've got to be aware of in this modern-day society. 

'That there are people out there who can show you a bit of kindness, and then they will exploit you for it, and it does happen, and it's happening now…'

The actor described the soap's treatment of the modern slavery storyline as 'outstanding'.

He said: 'Modern slavery is alive and well, and it's horrifying. I think it was very brave for people for them to bring this subject forward and I'm intensely proud of what we, as a team, have done.

'It was a huge collaboration and this is a subject that most of the time is brushed under the carpet. But they brought it to the forefront of our minds.'

When asked if it was Bear's battle with depression that enabled him to fall victim to modern slavery, despite his physique, Joshua admitted that this likely was the case.

He said: 'After talking to my sister in great depth, who's been watching this storyline, it put her in mind of my late father, who, in his later years, actually did suffer a similar kind of depression.

'I have seen this first hand, and I do know what can actually happen to somebody who, for all of their life, was a leader, and an intensely physically strong man, to be reduced to somebody who could be just shoved from pillar to post quite easily.'

Joshua said that despite the desperate nature of Bear's storyline, he believes that anyone who finds themselves in a similarly bad state of mind can recover with the right help - stressing 'there's always hope.'

Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and ITVX.