
Every soap motherâs worst nightmare? An evil kid. Now Emmerdaleâs Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) is facing the grim prospect of her own son Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) becoming a murdererâŠ
Laurelâs New Year got off to a horrific start when she discovered that her new boyfriend Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) was not the charming eligible bachelor he made himself out to be, but a cold-hearted criminal dealing in drug trafficking and modern slavery with his partner in crime and adoptive mother, the devilish Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths)
Appalled to realise that her new beau had forced vulnerable teenagers like April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) into drug trafficking, Laurel was horrified that sheâd ever let this man near her kids and screamed at Ray to get off her property.
Next thing we know, Ray turns up deadâŠand we see Laurel on her own, uneasily fiddling with the expensive bracelet that he got her for Christmas.

Viewers will soon discover thereâs more to Rayâs murder than meet in the eye, in an upcoming week of whodunnit episodes turning back the clocks to the day Ray died and focusing on the perspective of three suspects; Laurel, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry). Thursdayâs episode will take us back to the moment Ray killed Celia, exploring what really happened that day.
Laurelâs special episode begins with a sickened and disgusted Laurel struggling to accept the extent of Rayâs evil.
After she slams the door in his face, Ray bursts back into Mulberry, begging Laurel to forgive him. He uses his traumatic childhood under the thrall of the controlling Celia to make himself a victim, hoping to pull on Laurelâs heartstrings.
But nothing can justify the exploitation of desperate people, and Laurel washes her hands of Ray for good â a decision with fatal consequences. Seeing his mother terrified, Arthurâs furious with Ray and is determined to make him pay.

Then on Thursday, Emmerdale will pull back the curtain and show audiences every detail of Rayâs final moments as he stands over Celiaâs body, shaken and afraid.
Once heâs grabbed a distinctive red sports bad and wiped the fingerprints off the knife in Celiaâs back, Ray goes upstairsâŠwhere the sight of Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) dead by Celiaâs hand hits him like a punch to the gut.
During their final explosive confrontation, Celia had mocked Ray for getting to close to their forced labourers and boasted that she had the stomach to do what her son never could and tie up their loose ends.
Now Ray is rocked to see a man he considered a friend dead and gone, another victim of their human trafficking empire. Pulling himself together, he prepares to dispose of his adoptive motherâs body.

Meanwhile in the village, Arthurâs still livid about all the pain Rayâs caused his mum, when suddenly he spies the drug-dealerâs distinctive red-holdall. Thirsty for revenge, he swipes the back as payback, completely oblivious to the horrifying chain of events that decision is about to put in motionâŠ
Sure enough, Laurel hits the roof when Arthur returns with Rayâs stolen bag â which is full to the brim with stolen drugs. This leads to a fiery confrontationâŠ
Has Arthur just brought mortal danger to his mumâs door?