Emmerdale fans open-mouthed as they spot VERY familiar face in ITV drama The Tower

EMMERDALE fans were left gobsmacked after spotting a rather familiar face in The Tower on Monday night.

Viewers of the Yorkshire-based soap were forced to double-take as they quickly realised that DCI Tim Bailie was the infamous Robert Sudgen, played by Karl Davies.

Since his final Emmerdale appearance back in 2009, Karl has appeared in plenty of big shows since - but that hasn’t stopped fans from commenting whenever he appears in a new series.

Karl played Robert on the ITV flagship show between 2001 and 2005, with a one-off return in 2009 - and was caught up in some major storylines.

Despite leaving the show, he is still mentioned frequently, with his sister Victoria Sugden and ex-husband Aaron Dingle still on the show.

Due to his jaw-dropping moments in the soap - such as causing the death of Max King - Karl’s portrayal of Robert certainly made him a character to remember.

With that said, fans soon released who was playing DCI Tim on The Tower this week and headed straight to Twitter to share their surprise.

One viewer commented: “The original Robert Sugden from Emmerdale, doing what he does best acting dodgy.”

Another tweeted: “Hang on a minute. Isn’t that Robert Sugden? He looks so much older now.”

While a third gushed: “That’s the original Robert from Emmerdale, also known as one of my first crushes.”

Another actor that played as Robert in Emmerdale is Ryan Hawley - having a stint on the soap between 2014 and 2019.

Now appearing in BBC’s Silent Witness, Ryan looked unrecognisable in his new role on Tuesday night - two years after his Emmerdale departure.

Ryan showed off his longer hair and facial hair, with one fan tweeting: “It’s Robert Sugden. How have I only just realised that?”

The Tower is available to watch on the ITV Hub.