FAITH Dingle has accepted her fate after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Actress Sally Dexter is bowing out of Emmerdale as her character takes her final breath ahead of an explosive anniversary.
Faith Dingle refused to get any chemotherapy for her cancer
She’s been making memories with her loved ones
Diane Sugden comes back for her last moments
Faith has made a plan to end her life
Cain walks in on her before she dies
1. Faith breathes her last
Soap fans have been dreading the moment they would have to say goodbye to the bold and quirky village veteran.
The character revealed she was suffering from cancer during the summer and her daughter-in-law Moira (portrayed by Natalie J. Robb) was the first one to know about her condition.
This time, Moira has been the only resident to know all about Faith’s intention to end her life on her own terms.
Faith is ready to put her plan into action this week.
Coming up, after a heartfelt conversation with Aaron (returning actor Danny Miller), Faith gets an idea.
Brimming with excitement, she shares her plans for a family day with the rest of the Dingles, asserting they’ll all be going to the seaside.
When her health takes a turn for the worse and their trip seems compromised, Faith is insistent that they have to go ahead with the trip.
Meanwhile, her son Cain (Jeff Hordley) is determined to find a solution and, after some secret planning, Faith is overwhelmed to see what they’ve done as the Dingles and her friends bring the seaside to her.
A grateful Faith watches her family revel in the fun, delighted by how perfect her day is.
Better yet, when Diane Sugden returns to the eponymous village and Cain even asks her to dance – putting their grievances to bed once and for all – Faith is over the moon.
Once her day is over, Faith blissfully holds a picture of her family against her but her daughter-in-law Moira is unsettled, knowing that Faith is dropping hints she may be ending her life soon.
Moira is desperate to stop Faith from committing suicide, while the village veteran assures her she won’t be going ahead with her plan anytime soon.
But a guilty look from Faith teases her true intentions and she soon says her veiled goodbyes.
In later scenes, Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) leads his grandmother to bed, unaware she will soon be ending her life.
Once alone, Faith switches off her phone and takes one last look at the pictures from yesterday’s adventure.
Faith prepares to end her days alone and, later on, Cain walks in to realise what she has done.
Devastated, he tries to keep her comfortable as she drifts closer to death.
The Emmerdale tough man is heartbroken when he notices that Faith has taken her final breath.
Faith’s family and friends soon hear about her death and are left devastated.
Chas is still having an affair with Al – but could it all go wrong?
2. Chas misses out
But while her brother Cain managed to be by Faith’s side during her last moments, Chas (Lucy Pargeter) is too distracted by matters of the heart.
For several weeks, the Woolpack manager has been having an affair with local businessman Al Chapman (Michael Wildman) and the pair have refused to call things off despite being caught in the past.
But could Faith’s death change everything for Chas, although the latter’s diagnosis pushed them together?
Chas will first be concerned for Al following a confrontation with her son Aaron.
Al has made his feelings clear for Chas and, in later scenes at the Woolpack, he demands to know where she sees their relationship going.
When he spots her happy with her family, Al is then convinced he has already lost her.
But in a surprising turn of events, Al is elated and shocked to hear from Chas who professes her love.
To top it all of, Chas has also come to a decision – she wants to be with him.
The pair plan their hotel getaway and Al is determined to keep Chas’ mind off of her dying mother Faith.
He then announces he has officially bought a house for the both of them and he’s ready to celebrate with her.
Al encourages Chas to switch off from the world and enjoy their time together and she turns off her phone.
But as her husband Paddy’s many calls go unanswered, could she come to regret spending so much time with Al?
Tracy returned to the Dales after several months away
3. Tracy breaks some shock news
Aside from the tragedy hitting his family, Nate Robinson will also have to adapt to his former partner Tracy Metcalfe once again.
Actress Amy Walsh reprised her role in recent scenes of the Yorkshire-based drama after her maternity leave.
Although he’s involved with Naomi Anderson, Nate is very aware he still harbours romantic feelings for the mother of his daughter Frankie.
Tracy is startled by his relationship with Naomi after she spots them in the eponymous village together this week.
However, Tracy has some news of her own as she tells her sister Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) she’ll tell Nate about her engagement with a man named Ollie – but she struggles to find the right moment.
Before they know it, a charged moment leads to them sharing an illicit encounter.
Both exes awkwardly get redressed and Tracy panics when she hears Vanessa approaching, hurrying Nate out of the back door in nothing but his boxer shorts.
Tracy does everything she can to feign an air of normality but Vanessa knows her well and is immediately suspicious.
The village vet soon spots Nate’s phone and jeans but her suspicions are confirmed when he arrives to reclaim these items.
Vanessa despairs when Tracy admits that she still has feelings for Nate.
Will the exes work on their relationship?
Or will Tracy chose to remain with her fiancé?
Nicola King has it in for Naomi Anderson
4. Nicola gets revenge
Meanwhile, Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) is nowhere near ready to let things go when it comes to her brutal attack.
And with Naomi Anderson (Karene Peter) roaming around in the eponymous village, Nicola is ready to strike back to teach her a lesson.
But to do so, she targets her father, local vicar Charles (Kevin Mathurin).
This week, Charles is devastated to find out someone has made a complaint to the bishop about him.
He immediately suspects Nicola might be behind it and warns his daughter not to retaliate.
In later scenes, however, Charles is caught in an acrimonious conversation with Nicola.
Nicola is on top of the world when the bishop believes her lies about Charles abusing his power as vicar.
But when Laurel Thomas tells her that her actions could cost Emmerdale a genuinely good vicar, her mood drops.
Will Nicola backtrack?
Will Taylor and Kim Tate are set to get married – but will it go according to plan?
5. Kim sees red
With their nuptials fast approaching, Kim Tate (Claire King) and Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) should be on top of the world.
But with Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) determined to get Will back, despite her own relationship with Dan Spencer, the wedding surely won’t take place without any turmoil.
Will first admits to Bob that his declaration to Harriet was nothing more than a drunken mistake.
Matters go from bad to worse during a particularly charged moment and Will scuttles away, leaving Harriet to believe he still has feelings for her.
Dan becomes suspicious but Harriet hides her true feelings from him and, feeling guilty, decides not to attend Will’s wedding.
Kim is perplexed to see Will’s reaction to Harriet’s absence from their wedding and he insists she must attend the ceremony.
Will also tells Harriet he’d like to meet up with her – and she gets her hopes up once again.
A curious Kim decides to find Will and she spots him at the scrapyard with Harriet.
She’s stunned when it becomes clear to her that Harriet is fighting for Will’s love.
What will she do?
Emmerdale airs from Monday to Friday at 7.30pm on ITV.
