5 Emmerdale spoilers next week: Laurel Thomas suffers a devastating fall after confrontation with Arthur
Joe launches a new scheme, it's Ray's funeral, and Jacob is in hot water at work.
Joe Tate's (Ned Porteous) scheming continues in Emmerdale next week, this time deciding to target vulnerable Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).
If a cancer diagnosis and wife Moira's (Natalie J Robb) imprisonment wasn't enough, poor Cain now has the Tates to deal with. But could Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) offer a solution to his problem?
Meanwhile, Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) lashes out towards mum Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) after Ray Walters's (Joe Absolom) funeral. The villagers are conflicted by the burial, and it forces old feelings to resurface for Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards).
Elsewhere, Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) worries that his relationship with Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) may be over already, and a new storyline kicks off for Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant).
Here's everything you need to know about the episodes of Emmerdale airing between Monday 23 and Friday 27 February.
5 Emmerdale spoilers for next week
1. Joe Tate plots against Cain Dingle
After learning that Cain stole his car, Joe decides payback is overdue and delegates the dirty work to Graham.
At Butler's Farm, Cain’s juggling his mounting money woes, and granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Kate Hill) suggests boosting their funds with more stolen motors. He isn't keen, and tries to put her off the idea.
Graham heads to the farmhouse to nab the DeLorean keys, only to clock Cain’s oncology letter in the process. He’s caught red-handed reading the contents, but Cain is exhausted and is easily overpowered.
With the car back with Joe, and a guilt-ridden Graham claiming it was taken by joyriders, Kim is convinced.
Later, Graham heads back to Butler's and reveals he knows about Cain's prostate cancer diagnosis and urges him to stop warring with the Tates, and start focusing on staying alive. The pair share a grudging handshake of respect – unaware that Kim has spotted them from afar, and has come to the conclusion that the two men are in cahoots.
The following day, she nudges Joe to test his father figure's loyalty by suggesting he sabotage Cain’s machinery.
Meanwhile, Sarah realises Cain’s plotting one final car theft and demands to be involved. He shuts her down, but she's not going to back away easily.
Chaos erupts when a fallen tree sends a barn collapsing, trapping the sheep inside. Cain scrambles to take charge, and is shocked to see Graham offering his help. Against the odds, the flock is saved.
Buoyed by the rescue, Cain visits Moira in prison, only to be floored by the sight of her black eye from yet another fight inside.
Will she be OK?
2. Ray Walters's burial casts a shadow over the village
Ray’s burial looms, with Dylan and Laurel in a bad way over the situation. She asks Charles to attend on her behalf, but when he suggests she join him, something shifts.
Meanwhile, Paddy, Mandy and Dylan agree to keep the funeral from Bear, fearing it’ll drag up old trauma. Laurel ultimately decides to go with Charles and Claudette, unaware that they've spoken about their arrangement in earshot of Bear, and he insists on attending.
When Paddy discovers his dad's been at the funeral, panic sets in. He knows seeing Ray’s body could shatter his dad all over again and lashes out at Laurel for letting it happen.
Bear explodes in response, and Paddy’s left devastated at the sight of his father unravelling.
As he spirals, Manpreet refuses to hand over the painkillers he’s craving. Laurel later finds him drinking alone and gently offers her support, promising she’s there for him.
Aaron finds Bear and brings him home, hinting at his own past abuse, in the hope it'll resonate with him. He's urged not to shoulder the blame, but Bear insists that Aaron can’t pass judgment until he knows the full story.
3. Arthur Thomas pushes Laurel onto the staircase
Arthur is struggling with the revelation that Laurel attended the burial.
Things just haven't been the same between mother and son for weeks, starting when she viciously slapped him. Laurel then discovered that he'd squirrelled away thousands of pounds' worth of Ray's drugs money, and he swore to blackmail her should she tell anyone.
In upcoming scenes, their confrontation escalates – and ends in horror, when Arthur accidentally pushes her down the stairs.
Will Laurel be OK?
4. Vinny Dingle fears his relationship with Lewis Barton has hit a dead end
Love is in the air between Lewis and Vinny, though Ross still feels the need to budge into their romance and force them closer together.
The pair assist Cain in rescuing the sheep, and amid the adrenaline rush, they lock lips!
On better terms than ever before, they head off for an early night - but Lewis makes a hasty exit afterwards, leaving Vinny to fear that the spark may have already begun to fizzle.
5. Jacob Gallagher suffers another setback at work
Another familiar face is returning to the Dales next week – Dr Todd (Caroline Harker), kickstarting a workplace bullying storyline.
When Jacob makes a mistake at work, she gives him a firm telling off.
In a statement on her return, Harker said: "I’m delighted to be back at Emmerdale for a longer stint playing Doctor Todd.
"She’s a complex character and from what I’ve been told so far, quite a tricky one for Jacob to navigate. Workplace bullying is commonplace, and it will be interesting to see it brought to our screens in a serial drama such as Emmerdale."
Producer Laura Shaw added: "We are looking forward to seeing the machinations of someone like Caitlin Todd, and it’s not just at the hospital where she will start to make an impression.
"Caroline is a fabulous actor and brings such great experience to this role - we can’t wait for her to play out what we have planned for the character."
Read more:
- Emmerdale reveals Victoria Sugden's exit story following vicious ultimatum in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale's Victoria Sugden makes devastating decision about her future in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale finally confirms who killed Ray Walters following epic flashback week in ITVX release
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1. Stream on ITVX.
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
