Emmerdale ‘confirms’ Tom’s comeuppance as devastating diagnosis rocks the village in spring spoiler preview

2024 is shaping up to be another dramatic year in Emmerdale village, with tensions bubbling beneath the surface of several key families that are on the brink of erupting – and this spring it’s all set to kick off!

Since her arrival in the ITV soap, Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly) has managed to make an enemy of just about everyone she’s crossed!

Surely it’s only a matter of time before she goes too far?

With Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) and Amy Wyatt’s (Natalie Ann Jamieson) wedding placed in jeopardy by her mum Kerry (Laura Norton), we reckon she has a lot of explaining to do going forward.

As an old face enters Will Taylor’s (Dean Andrews) life, Dawn (Olivia Bromley) and Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) are about to be dealt a heartbreaking diagnosis for their son Evan.

Plus, as Tom King’s (James Chase) abusive and manipulative behaviour towards wife Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) turns physical, we wouldn’t want to be in his shoes when her brother Cain (Jeff Hordley) finds out!

So from incoming special episodes to a devastating accident that will divide the village, here’s a look at what you can expect in the coming months.

A special episode reveals life behind closed doors

Emmerdale has confirmed a very special episode that will explore the public and private sides to Tom and Belle’s relationship.

Boss Laura Shaw told us: ‘The real life stories that we’ve been given access to and the information and time we’ve spent with charities like Refuge have shown how quickly these relationships can turn physical so that’s what we’ll see happen next with those two’

‘Through our storyline we’ve been trying to find new and innovative ways to tell this story and we have a bit of a special episode coming up where we kind of do what everyone seems to like and step away from our usual Emmerdale format and do things a little differently.

‘So it’s a dinner party mainly focusing on Belle and Tom, and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) – we’ll see what goes on in their relationships but through the special way we’ve done it is that we’ll see behind closed doors. I’ll leave you to work out what that might be!’

Actress Zoe Henry added: ‘Rhona’s disgraceful. All I will say is we get very drunk. You know that saying, “sober man’s mind, drunken man’s tongue” – that one.’

‘We shot the whole episode in two days, it was like filming a play with only 8 characters’ she continued.

Mark Charnock chirped in: ‘All I can say about it is I’ve never done anything like that episode.’

Consider us intrigued!

Will Tom finally get what’s coming to him?

Families at war following an epic disaster

Over the years we’ve seen The Woolpack explode and be struck by lightning, a villager crushed by a caravan, countless car accidents, a plane crash and a helicopter crash.

But in the next few weeks another stunt will shake things up in the dales.

Two big families will be united when a nasty accident leaves one resident fighting for their life.

‘Whether they live or die we’ll have to see’ added Laura.

‘Ripples and repercussions from that accident will be very long lasting and life changing for a number of our villagers.’

Could Cain find out about Tom’s devious behaviour and plot to kill him? Or will it be someone else that’s left fighting for their life?

Evan is diagnosed with leukaemia

Dawn and Billy Fletcher will be left heartbroken in Emmerdale when baby Evan is diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

The happy couple, who welcomed Evan into the world at the end of last year, will struggle to come to terms with the news, with their whole family thrown into disarray in the aftermath.

‘This is an incredibly challenging and heartbreaking story, but such an important story for Emmerdale to tell,’ said actress Olivia Bromley.

‘I’ve learnt so much since working with Leukaemia Care and speaking to parents whose children have been diagnosed, and we want to not only raise awareness but to do justice to the experience of families who are blindsided by a diagnosis like this.’

Laura continued: ‘With this story we wanted to show the stress and strain it can put on a family – a long term illness like that.

‘What we’ll see is that the family roles are changed overnight and out of nowhere, and we’ll see how they are affected and the stress it puts on everyone around them.’

She added: ‘We’ll look at the financial pressure that can be put on a family with a long term condition like this. That’s a big story for us going forward.’

Rose proves to be a thorn in Will’s side

Will Taylor will receive a blast from the past this week when old acquaintance Rose returns to his life – and it’s safe to say that he’s keen to keep her a secret from wife Kim Tate!

Describing Rose, who is played by soap legend Christine Tremarco, Laura said: ‘What I can tell you is that she’s someone from Will’s past so she’s going to be hitting out screens soon and causing a real storm at Home Farm and with Kim Tate.

‘Christine brings with her a whole wealth of experience and talent and I can’t wait for you to see what she does when she hits the village.’

Christine added: ‘To be working with such a wonderful cast and crew along with the brilliant writing and production team is an absolute joy!

‘Rose is so much fun to play. She is free spirited, boisterous and totally mischievous with a steely edge and a big heart.’

We wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Kim and we can’t wait to see her reaction!

Another hurdle for Amy and Matty

Amy and Matty Barton have faced several obstacles on their road to wedded bliss.

First there was Claudette Anderson (Flo Wilson), who was strongly against their use of the village hall after learning that Matty was trans, asserting that ‘two women can’t get married’.

Wedding planner Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) was quick to jump in and point out that they can, while Amy explained that Matty wasn’t a woman.

Then we’ve seen Kerry struggle to find the money to pay for the ceremony, admitting to Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) that she stole a necklace from an elderly fiancé she met on a cruise liner and hoped that it would be worth a fortune.

Actor Ash Palmisciano has teased that further woes are about to hit the couple: ‘You never know what’s around the corner and things impact will impact them. With the importance of the story and the representation, it’s a solid message there.

‘But who knows? As we’ve already mentioned there’s a lot of inter webbed relationships going on anyway.’

‘We’re always here for the drama!’ added Natalie Ann Jamieson.

Who is Ella Forster?

Fans of the show have been convinced that serial killer Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) is set to return to the eponymous village after a huge hint in a recent episode.

Ever since her arrival in the village, Ella Forster (Paula Lane) has sparked suspicions among fans that there is more to her character than meets the eye, with many wondering if she has an ulterior motive for coming to the Emmerdale village.

After all, nobody arrives without at least one secret up their sleeve!

After quizzing Dawn and Billy over their disastrous wedding day which was ruined by Meena, the speculation continued when Ella was cagey with her love interest and colleague Liam Cavanagh (Johnny McPherson), who began to ask about her friends and family.

She teased that an old friend had suggested that she become a nurse.

Could she have really been referring to Meena?