Emmerdale's Mike Parr looks dramatically different in selfie years after leaving soap

Former Emmerdale star Mike Parr looks completely unrecognisable from his time in the ITV soap as he posted a new selfie showing off his look.

Mike played Ross Barton for over five years in 736 episodes of the show, stepping away after a number of dramatic storylines in 2018.

Mike was nominated for 'Sexiest Male' on a number of occasions by viewers - but we hadn't really seen much of him since he left the Dales four years ago.

That was until he posed for a dramatic topless selfie on his Instagram, with the 35-year-old looking completely different from the fresh-faced Ross we knew on screen.

Mike's new look left some fans shocked (Mike Parr/Instagram)

Mike's new look is far from Ross Barton, who he played for five years (Mike Parr)

Mike captioned the Instagram post: "Paul Sykes vibes."

Many of his near 250,000 followers took to the comments with shock and awe, with one writing: "No way has he aged this much in such a short space of time, I reckon this is make up or prosthetics for a part he’s playing"

A second said: "I'm getting Freddie Mercury vibes...it's definitely the task."

Mike pictured in character (Emmerdale)

While a third commented: "Is this for a part, prosthetics? Make up? I’m confused"

Mike's time on Emmerdale saw Ross turn from villain to hero, including getting shot, his tragic relationship with police officer Donna and faking his own death.

He left in the aftermath of the White family's fatal car crash, with producers keeping hopes of a return alive by having Ross move to Liverpool with Rebecca.

Since leaving, his most famous credit has been in the Sky One police series Bulletproof, with Mike popping up in season two as Ben.

Ross was involved in a lot of dramatic storyline during his five-year stint on the show (ITV)

Mike has since starred in the Sky One drama Bulletproof (Mike Parr)

Meanwhile, this week in Emmerdale, a shocking secret is confirmed after weeks of speculation, while the soap's stalking plot takes a worrying turn.

Fans will finally find out what Leyla Harding has been hiding on the ITV soap, with her secret exposed this week.

It's confirmed Leyla is secretly taking drugs, as is newcomer Suzy, with the resident living a whole different life away from the village and her husband.

Viewers had speculated all sorts after Leyla began acting out of character and making cryptic phone calls, before she was stunned to see Suzy in the village.

Now, spoilers for this week reveal Leyla's drug habit will be exposed as she goes into business with Suzy.