Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale will dedicate next week to Ray Walters’ mysterious death, as the episodes airing between 19 and 23 January will be dedicated to flashbacks of the day Ray was killed, showing what all the suspects were really up to on the time in question.
Laurel Thomas, who discovered Ray’s crimes shortly before he died, will be a big part of next week’s episodes. New information about the flashbacks reveal that Nicola King has a surprising part to play in events too.
In the scenes set to air during Monday’s (19 January) episode, Ray stands over the dead body of mum Celia Daniels before grabbing his red bag and heading for the door.
He heads back to Mulberry and tries to explain to Laurel that his traumatic past is the reason he’s done such terrible things. But she refuses to listen.
ITV
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He begs for his freedom and she reluctantly agrees to let him walk away. However, her son Arthur is determined to make him pay for all the pain he’s inflicted.
That’s where Nicola factors in, as she urges Laurel to lure Ray into a trap.
Will she actually go through with it though? And if she does, could it prove to be a risky move?
ITV
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“Laurel often listens to Nicola’s advice when it comes to her life — but this is on a whole other level,” our Emmerdale source says.
“Nicola encouraged Laurel to make sure that Ray didn’t get away with his crimes, but this would have been a major risk. How far did Laurel go? And did it place her in danger?”
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX and YouTube.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. This week’s episode features a chat with Coronation Street star Jacob Roberts, who plays Kit Green.