Emmerdale fans were left doing a double-take during the latest episode of the ITV soap as Arthur Thomas made an appearance.
The youngster, who is the son of Laurel Thomas and the late Ashley Thomas, was seen talking to Jai Sharma. He had paid a visit to his ex Laurel to apologise on behalf of his dad, Rishi.
Fans of the soap saw Rishi headed to see Laurel at The Hide to talk to her about Jai following their recent split. It came after Laurel discovered that Jai had taken out a loan in her name to pay his share of the venue's fine following the survival day horror last year.
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Jai's secret behaviour left Laurel and risk of losing her beloved home which she shared with Ashley and their children after Kim Tate decided to put it up for sale as she needed the money for her latest investment in the haulage firm.
The businessman ended up selling his shares of The Hop in order to buy Laurel Mulberry Cottage but in a twist, her step-daughter Gabby Thomas ended up buying the property using money she had from Kim.
But during Tuesday night's trip to the Dales, Rishi tried to get Laurel to change her mind on Jai but his timing couldn't have been more wrong as she struggled over the news that her ex-husband Marlon Dingle had suffered a stroke.
And when Jai arrived, Laurel hit out and Jai later paid her a visit at home in order to apologise and try and make amends, only to find her looking out old wedding pictures of herself and Marlon.
When asked if there was anything he could do, Laurel asked Jai if he could stay, clearly sparking his hopes of a reunion. But these were quickly dashed when she clarified that she wanted him to watch the kids as she headed to The Woolpack to check for more news on Marlon.
Appearing slightly wounded, Jai ended up sitting down with Arthur, who appeared from upstairs in his glasses and dressing gown, and ended up speaking about how much he misses his dad.
But the scenes left Emmerdale viewers distracted by Arthur's sudden growth spurt. @ballumloves tweeted: "Catching up on #emmerdale had the actor for Arthur changed? Or is it just the glasses throwing me off?"
"#Emmerdale Wow Arthur has grown up overnight..!!!! Looks like a young man.." @JCBarry1 said. @MrsAmyLenton commented: "Arthur ages 5 years every time we see him #emmerdale."
"Gosh Arthur has grown @emmerdale #Emmerdale," @AutumRose17 wrote. @lozd491 then asked: "Is Arthur a different actor? #Emmerdale," which prompted a few responses.
@Rocky67322315 said: "That's exactly what I've been thinking," while @Chris1968E replied: "No he's had a growth spurt."
Emmerdale fans were also shocked last year when Arthur returned to screens looking a lot older than they remembered as it came after the soap was forced to shut down production due to the coronavirus pandemic.
14-year-old Arthur is played by Alfie Clarke, who is actually 14, and has appeared in the ITV soap since October 2009 after taking over the role from Luis Townley And Emmerdale viewers are set to see more of Arthur in upcoming scenes as the schoolboy as next week it's revealed Laurel hasn't told her son about what really happened between her and Jai.
They'll see an angry Arthur accusing his mother of sleeping with someone else leaving Laurel completely humiliated until Jai steps in and sets Arthur straight.
