SECRETS are common in the Dales and can sometimes be the cause of residents spiralling out of control.
One Emmerdale villager is due for some shocking news this week but will they find the support they need?
Charity Dingle gets a shock this week
But she turns to alcohol to cope
Will she get the help she needs?
1. Charity gets troubling news
What trouble is ahead for Charity Dingle?
Since her son’s return from prison, the Woolpack landlady played by Emma Atkins has had to jump through multiple hurdles with her partner, Mackenzie Boyd.
The couple faced heartbreak when she had to terminate an ectopic pregnancy and heavily disagreed on plans for their family.
Meanwhile, Noah decided he was ready to help Amelia Spencer raise baby Esther, proving he changed his troubled ways, and Charity is learning to be a grandmother again.
Little does she know there’s a lot more she needs to be made aware of.
Coming up on ITV, Charity is in total shock when she receives news via a mysterious phone call.
Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) jumps to conclusions and believes Charity knows all about his baby secret with Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland).
As fans of the Yorkshire-based drama will know, Mack had a one night stand with Chloe and the pair have desperately been trying to hide the infidelity – particularly since finding out the young woman is expecting a baby.
But Charity does nothing to ease her partner’s nerves and remains tight-lipped as she struggles to cope with the news she’s received over the phone.
She opts for an escape and drowns a sorrows with vodka, heading out to clear her head.
As she wanders around the eponymous village, she spots Caleb Milligan (Will Ash), too busy chatting on the phone to notice his car key fell to the ground.
Charity swipes it and invites Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) along for the ride.
An irritated Cain is forced to follow Charity – but it’s soon clear what’s eating away at her.
Emmerdale legend Zoe Tate makes a return
2. Zoe has huge surprise for Noah
Charity’s son Noah Dingle (Jack Downham) is due for a shock of his own in upcoming scenes of the soap.
The lad returned to the eponymous village a changed young man and has stepped up to the plate for Amelia Spencer.
As Samson Dingle refused to have anything to do with her, Noah confirmed he was ready to take care of baby Esther with Amelia.
His aunt Zoe Tate, who hasn’t been seen in the village since 2005, may be giving him just what he needs for the little girl.
The 18-year-old finds out that his aunt Zoe Tate set up a trust fund for him in his father Christopher’s name.
Soap fans may remember that Christopher committed suicide after finding out he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumour and framed Charity for his murder.
How will Noah react to the news?
Will and Sam cannot get along
3. Will and Sam come to blows
Meanwhile, tensions arise in Home Farm as Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) becomes determined to find out who has been stealing from him.
Lydia and Sam Dingle (respectively portrayed by Karen Blick and James Hooton) have worked at Home Farm for several years.
Over time, the cleaner even formed a bond with Kim (Claire King), despite her long-running feud with the Dingle clan.
However, Will has recently been convinced the couple are responsible things going missing in Home Farm.
This wek, Will confronts Sam about his missing watch and things quickly get heated to the point where Caleb steps in to separate the pair.
Sam is stunned by Caleb coming to his defence, particularly due to his proximity to Cain Dingle, who has been actively rejecting the newcomer.
Later on, Will is thrown when Nicky the nanny reveals baby Thomas Tate was playing with his watch.
But the damage is done…
Kim Tate loses a friend
4. Kim is devastated
Following the major disagreement, Kim is left frustrated as she realises she fell out with Lydia for nothing.
The following day, Kim apologises and offers Sam and Lydia their jobs back.
A hurt Lydia agrees but she lets Kim know that she will no longer be considered a friend, just her boss.
This creates more tension between Kim and her husband.
Will is shocked when he learns that both Lydia and Sam have been reinstated and feels unsupported by Kim.
Unfortunately for him, Kim has no time on her schedule to dwell on his hard feelings as Caleb Milligan arrives to sign off on the stud farm and officially become her business partner.
This only makes matters worse for Will who thinks Caleb is a shyster.
Kim doesn’t want to hear it, prompting Will to assert his position as her husband in front of Caleb.
Paddy Kirk is still heartbroken after finding out Chas cheated on him
5. Chas drops a bombshell
Love affairs are frequent in the village and some couples aren’t strong enough to withstand them – such is the case for Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt).
The Woolpack manager embarked on a shocking affair with Al Chapman last year.
She was even ready to leave her life in the eponymous village but her plans were thwarted when the businessman was shot dead by Kyle Winchester.
Chas was left to grieve in silence but her affair was eventually exposed weeks after Al’s death by Belle Dingle.
Paddy confronted Chas by taking her to the home she was planning to settle into with Al and their daughter Eve, before demanding a divorce.
Heartbroken, he even tried to push Chas out of the village altogether, but she’s adamant on staying put.
All hopes of the couple ever reconciling are dashed in scenes airing this week.
Chas seals the deal when she confirms to Paddy that her love for Al was stronger than what they had – the nail in the coffin for her marriage.
Bernice’s business venture isn’t going well
6. Bernice gets betrayed
Bernice Blackstock’s (Samantha Giles) fight for the B&B continues this week.
With Eric Pollard and Brenda Walker ready to retire, Bernice saw the opportunity of a lifetime and decided to dedicate her time to a new business venture.
She’s thus joined forces with Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) but they realise they’ll have to jump through multiple hurdles before becoming the proud owners of The Grange.
Coming up, Bob tries desperately to get Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) to buy his shares in Café Main Street but she doesn’t want to hear another word of it.
Much to his horror, he then learns from Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) that they have three days to pay the deposit.
This gives them a limited amount of time to raise the funds for the B&B, prompting to hatch another plan to get what they want.
But Bernice and Bob are later disappointed when their plan to get Jimmy King drunk to convince Nicola to buy the shares fails.
To make matters worse, Nicola has a trick up her own sleeve and she calls Eric.
The following day, Bernice is hurt and angry as she learns that her sister Nicola and her husband Jimmy have bought the B&B.
She confronts Nicola and accuses her of being a traitor but Eric gives her another shot.
Bernice and Bob can barely believe their luck when they convince Pollard to let them beat Nicola’s offer.
Will they be able to get their hands on the cash needed?
Is romance in the cards for Arthur?
7. Arthur is shocked by major return
Coming out of the closet is no easy feat, particularly when faced with mockery from your peers – Arthur Thomas could only agree.
The lad played by Alfie Clarke has been the target of homophobic pranks and bullying since he first came out.
Viewers will remember that Arthur made his coming out to Nicola King in heart-warming scenes aired before Christmas.
His crush-turned-bully Marshall (Max Fletcher) took things up to the next level when he pretended to have reciprocated feelings for Arthur and revealed it was all a bet.
But Marshall has a change of heart in upcoming scenes and stands up for Arthur to another bully in front of Nicola Wheeler and April Windsor.
Arthur is stunned as he realises Marshall really is on his side and the two boys share a subtle moment.
The following day, Arthur’s mother Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) makes a call to the school when he tells her his LGBTQ+ History assembly was cancelled.
Laurel thus finds out that one parent complained about Arthur taking on such a project and, after an insensitive comment from Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), the teen is convinced he was the one that called to cancel the event.
Hurt and bewildered, Arthur feels as though Jai is encouraging him to suppress his sexuality and the businessman is pained.
Arthur can surprisingly count on Marshall’s support as the latter comes to check on him once the assembly is cancelled.
Frustrated, Arthur admits he feels like nobody is being upfront with him and warns Marshall that he’s not being honest with him, he’ll need to leave him alone.
Marshall’s cool boy bravado is stripped away and the pair almost share a kiss.
Unfortunately, the moment is cut short when Marshall’s father calls him and he panics, rushing off.
The following day, an upset Laurel tells Arthur his presentation will be allowed but only when some parents have withdrawn their children from the assembly.
How can Laurel support her son?
Emmerdale airs from Monday to Friday at 7.30pm on ITV.
