Celia’s Mask Slips

Emmerdale viewers were left reeling this week as Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) was finally revealed as the mastermind behind the county lines drug operation, secretly controlling Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) and orchestrating the chaos that has engulfed April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle).

The revelation came after April considered going to the police about her involvement. Outside the hospital, where Leo had been rushed after ingesting dropped pills, Celia first comforted the teen — before violently slapping her across the face and exposing her true identity.

Her chilling warning was clear: “If you say one word about where you got those drugs from, we would have to retaliate… Maybe one day you’ll go missing again, only this time, they won’t find you. Not all of you anyway.”

Grooming Ray Into Crime

The shocking twist also revealed Celia had raised Ray after finding him on the streets, grooming him into a life of crime. While Ray has long played the role of ringleader, it is Celia who has been pulling the strings all along — a ruthless, calculating presence far more dangerous than anyone suspected.

Fans Connect the Dots to Holly Barton

Following the episode, fans flooded social media with theories that Celia may have been behind a death from nearly a decade ago — that of Holly Barton. Holly, who tragically died of a heroin overdose in 2016, was a storyline that rocked the Dales. Now, viewers are speculating Celia may have been involved in feeding the drugs into the village back then, potentially making Holly her first victim.

One fan wrote: “Celia has been in the background all along, I bet she had a hand in Holly’s death.” Another added: “This reveal makes me wonder if Holly Barton was Celia’s first casualty.”

A New Supervillain in the Dales

Celia’s rise to power marks one of the most terrifying turns Emmerdale has taken in years. By reducing Ray to her pawn and directly threatening children, she has established herself as a soap villain capable of changing the fabric of the village.

And with fans theorising her reach stretches back to Holly Barton’s death, it seems Celia’s legacy of destruction may be far longer — and darker — than anyone could have imagined.