Emmerdale actor Danny Miller has been forced to publicly address cruel online rumours that falsely claimed his father, Vince Miller, had died. In a video shared on social media last Friday, the 34-year-old actor confirmed his father is alive and condemned the spread of misinformation.
False rumours cause distress
Vince Miller, a well-known figure in Manchester's entertainment scene, has worked as a compère and host for major acts including The Beatles and Take That. He lives with dementia, a condition Danny has spoken about openly. The false posts claimed Vince had died in a tragic car accident, leading to an outpouring of messages from concerned friends and family.
Danny said: 'My dad's alive. What an awful, awful thing to just be on your main grid. Imagine the day when it actually comes and the sad news happens, if that happens before me with his dementia, people go "oh I thought he died two years ago". My dad is alive.'
Impact on family
The actor explained that the rumours directly affected his family, including his 17-year-old niece who messaged him asking if the news was true. Danny said: 'Family members and old friends of his messaging me, and I thought I'll just address it on here and hopefully people will get that he is alive.'
He criticised those who create such accounts for financial gain through engagement, calling the actions 'beyond me'. Danny added: 'They've not even thought about it, made it believable in my eyes, where you could go "dementia's finally taken him"… he's been in a tragic car accident? That's my first thing. Reading it is just f****** awful.'
Support from fans
Danny's followers shared supportive messages. Wendy wrote: 'I'm so relieved and like yourself, am absolutely disgusted and flabbergasted with what's been posted. I feel for you.' Jill said: 'I read that story Danny – didn't believe it but knew many people might – absolutely disgraceful – why do people do this – how do they sleep at night ?? Obviously not real Emmerdale fans – big hugs to you and your dad.' Mandy added: 'How cruel is the world we live in. I'm so pleased your Dad is alive and well.'
Emmerdale storyline
In Emmerdale, Danny's character Aaron Dingle has been suspicious of newcomer Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy), a distant cousin of Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley). Aaron's guard is up after previous newcomer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) turned out to be a dangerous medic. In upcoming episodes, Robert is struck by a trailer, and Aaron's fears increase as he and mother Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) dig into Serena's secrets.
