April Windsor’s terrifying ordeal in Emmerdale is far from over as a setback prevents her from escaping Celia Daniels’ clutches.
The teen has been under Celia and her son, Ray Walters‘, control for several months, dealing drugs for the pair and being pressured into having sex with strangers.
Eventually, the youngster told her dad, Marlon Dingle, and stepmum, Rhona Goskirk, what she had been going through. This recently culminated in Celia and Ray threatening the family and leaving April’s boyfriend, Dylan Penders, for dead.
Tonight’s episode (8 December) saw Marlon and Rhona planning to flee with their kids April, Leo and Ivy, securing rucksacks filled with supplies and a car to get out of the village.
Rhona asks what to do about Dylan, who has also been exploited by Celia and Ray. However, Marlon insists that the only alternative is “staying like sitting ducks”, which puts the entire family in danger.
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Knowing that April won’t want to leave Dylan, who is fighting for his life in the hospital after Ray brutally ran him over, they want to keep her in the dark for as long as possible about their plan.
But their daughter says they need to “draw a line” under the altercation with Ray and Celia and do “exactly what Ray says”, so everything will be fine.
Marlon overhears April speaking to an unconscious Dylan in the hospital, vowing that she will be there every day by his side until he wakes up.
Marlon assures her that he will be fine as he is the “toughest kid he knows”, pleading with April to leave.
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She soon discovers Marlon and Rhona’s secret plan to essentially kidnap her and forcibly remove her from the village.
Leaving the hospital, she enters the car, and Marlon locks the door, apologising for forcing them to go on the run. “You’re my daughter, keeping you safe is my number one job,” he says.
As they go to drive off from the hospital car park, they are stopped by Ray, who slyly asks if they are going somewhere.
“I have eyes and ears all over,” he warns the family, as April pleads with him that they will do everything he says from now on.
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April offers an alternative solution – she continues to work for Ray in order to pay off the debt she still owes.
This horrifies Marlon, who just wants his daughter to be safe. He instead offers to pay off Ray and Celia himself in a bid to get April away from them.
“The only thing that scum care about is money,” he tells Rhona. “We’ve tried the police, we’ve tried running. There’s only one thing left: we pay off April’s debt. However much it takes, we pay them – even if that takes every penny we’ve got.”
Rhona is shocked by his proposition – will he go through with it? And what further danger could it put them in?
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
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