Next week on Emmerdale, Bear’s true identity is discovered, Dylan receives a birthday shock, and what has Celia got in store as April finally tells all to Rhona and Marlon?

1) April gets close to the truth

Guilt continues to eat away at April (Amelia Flanagan) next week, after believing she killed client Callum (Max Lohan) four weeks ago.

April had been forced into the rendezvous by Celia (Jaye Griffiths) and Ray (Joe Absolom) after she’d run out on a previous client on the realisation that she was expected to sleep with him.

Making it clear what was expected of her this time around, Celia and Ray ordered April to meet Callum at an apartment where he proceeded to try and persuade her to take drugs with him.

Though she refused, she attempted to drink enough to block out what was to come, only for Callum to realise what she was trying to do.

When he later forced himself on her as she tried to back out, April grabbed a nearby vodka bottle and hit him over the head.

Callum collapsed unconscious onto the bed with blood pouring from his head, and April fled the scene.

It was left to Ray to return to the scene and ‘tidy things up’, making out to April that he had disposed of Callum’s body.

Viewers later learned that Callum was in fact fine following the incident, but April’s ongoing guilt has her exactly where Celia and Ray want her—believing she owes them a huge debt, and terrified of going to the police in case she’s put away for murder.

Next week, when April claims she’s heading into Hotten to do some shopping, she manages to convince grandad Bob (Tony Audenshaw) to lend her some money.

With the cash in hand, she makes straight for the bus stop, though heading for a very different destination.

Before long she’s standing outside the house she recognised from searching Callum’s social media posts, holding a Christmas card stuffed with the money Bob gave her.

Fully aware she’s about to do something reckless, April steels herself and slips the card through the letterbox—intended as a gesture for Callum’s ‘bereaved’ wife.

As she rushes away, she’s oblivious to Callum opening the door moments later. Spooked by the unexpected delivery, he wastes no time in calling Ray.

Back in the village, Ray confronts April and makes it clear he knows exactly what she’s been up to.

His frustration spills over as he urges her to stop digging into anything to do with Callum, however much the situation still pains her.

Dylan (Fred Kettle) quickly picks up on how shaken she is after their exchange, though remains unaware of the incident that is causing April so much turmoil.

Later, Ray returns to the farm and fills Celia in on how April narrowly avoided running into Callum.

The pair immediately begin to turn their attention to the next stage of their plan, looking for ways to prise April away from her loved ones completely.

Meanwhile, in The Woolpack, Marlon (Mark Charnock), Rhona (Zoe Henry) and Bob remain hopeful, believing that April is finally finding her feet again and getting back on track.

2) Dylan receives a birthday shock

The following day, Dylan’s 18th birthday takes a dark turn when Celia abruptly turns up, insisting she needs him for a job and causing him to miss Paddy’s (Dominic Brunt) planned celebrations.

Whisked out to the farm with no explanation, Dylan is stunned when Celia unveils his so-called ‘present’—Robbie, tied up and accused of grassing on her operation following the raid on the depot.

Knowing that he himself was the one who informed the police, Dylan’s horror only deepens when she passed a baseball bat into his hand, expecting him to deal out Robbie’s punishment himself.

Unable to bring himself to do it, Dylan freezes, and Celia instead summons Robbie’s fellow worker Mick (Leon Harrop) to finish what she started, steering Dylan outside as the violence is left to unfold behind them.

Celia then goes on to outline her plan to put Dylan in charge of the forced workers, leaving him reeling as the realisation finally dawns on him—he isn’t being offered work responsibility, he and everyone else are being exploited.

When Dylan heads upstairs to check on Robbie in the ‘workers’ quarters, he’s in for a big shock… is he about to discover where Bear has been all these months? Or is Robbie about to meet the same fate as Anya?

Back in the village, Rhona is startled to realise that it’s also Bear’s (Joshua Richards) birthday, and Paddy quietly admits just how much he’s missing his dad, oblivious as to how close he really is!

3) Celia learns Bear’s true identity

Enacting their plan to isolate April, Ray orders April to pack a bag, making it clear she’s being sent away on a job whether she likes it or not. Feeling cornered, April has little choice but to do as he says.

Dylan leans in, speaking quickly and urgently, telling Marlon to get April to go to the police and tell them everything.

Spooked by the intensity of his warning, Marlon wastes no time hurrying off to find her.

With Marlon gone, Dylan slips into Tenants to grab his phone, only for Celia to follow him inside. She keeps pushing him to get moving, and in the fluster Dylan fails to steer her away from a framed photo of Bear on the side.

Celia’s eyes catch on it immediately, and it’s clear she’s just recognised that they now have a serious problem!

4) April confesses to Marlon and Rhona

April races towards the bus stop with her bag packed, only to be stopped in her tracks by Marlon. His concern is immediate as he asks what kind of trouble she’s in, leaving April stunned that he seems to know anything at all.

She initially tries to brush it off, fearful of revealing all after she foresaw that doing so would only end in her family being hurt.

Marlon and Rhona are horrified as they listen to April’s story, and they gently but firmly urge her to forget Ray’s job and stay with them instead.

Their determination to pull her out of the nightmare she’s been living only heightens her anxiety over them getting involved, and panic hits when Marlon begins preparing to head to the police station.

Desperate to stop him, April blurts out the one thing that she hadn’t yet confided—that she killed a man, Callum. The confession leaves both Marlon and Rhona reeling.

When they later head to the door, they’re stopped in their tracks as Celia walks in, feeling it’s time to have a little chat with the terrified family.

As April worries that her worst fears about her family’s safety are about to come true, Celia takes a video call from Ray, and props up the phone so they can all see what is about to occur…

The following day, Marlon, Rhona and April have big decisions to make as they face an impossible situation.

5) Laurel gives Ray another chance

Meanwhile, whilst not terrorising the local teens on his mum’s orders, Ray is doing all he can to make things up to Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) after he failed to turn up for their planned first date.

In a rare showing of his human side, Ray seems to be head over heels for Laurel, and next week he treats her to a carefully prepared picnic outside The Hide.

As he speaks openly and straight from the heart, Laurel is moved by the sincerity, and allows him one last chance.

Later in the week, Laurel is smitten as Ray comes over to Mulberry Cottage, not realising she’s opened her door and family to someone far more dangerous than she knows.

6) Sam comes clean to Lydia

Also next week, Sam’s (James Hooton) bid to land VIP Jason Donovan tickets for Lydia (Karen Blick) has backfired spectacularly, leaving him penniless and ticketless.

Feeling utterly defeated, Sam bristles when Ryan (James Moore) suggests he should be honest with Lydia about what’s happened.

Summoning his courage, he heads home—only to find Lydia and Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) trying on dresses for the concert.

Before he can get a word in, Lydia reveals she already knows about the tickets, forcing Sam to confess the truth.

After explaining everything to Lydia and Belle, Sam is left deeply embarrassed.

As a downcast Lydia retreats upstairs, he can only stand there, crushed by how badly he’s disappointed her.