Five huge ITV Emmerdale theories: cruel groom gets comeuppance, shock reunion and family discovery rocks the village
ELLA Forster is winning villagers over since her arrival and she could be set for her own romantic storyline this week.
However, Emmerdale fans are certain there’s another twist ahead. Meanwhile, Belle Dingle gets hitched – will she regret it?
1. New love triangle
Former Coronation Street star Paula Lane rocked up the eponymous ITV village earlier this year as she took on the role of newcomer Ella Forster.
The new character made quite the impression on viewers when she befriended Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) upon her first arrival.
After being fired from her previous job, Ella found a new way to make a living when Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) approached her with an offer.
She has since been part of the staff in the local GP surgery.
This week, however, Ella could be combining work with personal matters, much to Wendy Posner’s (Susan Cookson) astonishment.
Coming up, Ella settles into working at the surgery and she slowly finds her mark in the village.
But in a surprise twist, Wendy detects a spark between her and another villager – Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson).
Liam has been a free agent in recent months following the breakdown of his marriage with Leyla Harding.
When his passion for writing murder mysteries came to light, Liam bonded with nurse Wendy and the friendship evolved into a torrid affair.
Wendy’s partner Bob Hope eventually found out what they had been up to and the nurse put an end to the illicit romance.
Since then, Liam bedded Chas Dingle as they both realised they were looking for love in the eponymous Dales.
Yet the romance was cut short when Chas left the village following her devastating breast cancer diagnosis.
Could she return to Liam having moved on with Ella?
Whatever the case may be, Chas may not be the only one shocked by Liam’s new romance.
In recent weeks, Wendy’s relationship with Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) has been put to the test as the B&B owner is still mourning the loss of his son Heath.
The lad was killed off during a joyride gone wrong with his twin sister Cathy and their pal Angelica King, who is due to face justice for taking the wheel of Wendy’s stolen car, which resulted in Heath’s death.
Bob’s behaviour has been heavily influence by his overwhelming grief and he has lashed out at multiple villagers, most notably Jimmy King who he ferociously punched in the face.
Could it be enough to drive Wendy away and rekindle her affair with Liam?
Paula Lane has teased a potential love triangle for her on-screen alter ego, prior to her debut.
Could it be with Wendy and Liam?
2. DNA twist for newcomer
While the drama may rapidly unfold, viewers of the Yorkshire-based program believe they’ve rumbled a shock connection in the eponymous village.
The new theory emerged online as soap fans realised that Ella bears a striking resemble to Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham).
Could both characters be related without knowing it?
Could Ella have rocked up the village in search of her long-lost relative?
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer penned: “Ella looks so much like Gabby.”
“This girl reminds me of Gabby”, a second fan agreed.
A third echoed: “Thought that was Gabby at first.”
Over on Reddit, one viewer asked: “Gabby and Ella look so alike, could they be related?”
Paula Lane, on the other hand, teased: “There’s no family ties that I’m aware of in the village but that can change.”
Is she hiding her true identity?
3. “Vanity” reunion
Soap watchers are welcoming change this week as Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) and Mary Goskirk’s friendship could evolve into a romantic connection.
This is mostly due to the fact that actress Michelle Hardwick is finally reprising the role of Vanessa Woodfield and viewers are hoping to see her jump into Charity Dingle’s arms again.
Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry) was shocked when her former husband Gus Malcolms (Alan McKenna) revealed he had used one of her frozen embryos to have the family he was dreaming of.
This led to the bittersweet birth of Ivy and, once she met the new-born, Rhona’s shock wore off.
Instead, she began to feel an undeniable pull towards Ivy and she has struggled to stay away from her.
But when Gus decided to take Ivy back, after first struggling with single fatherhood, Rhona took things to a shocking level by kidnapping the baby girl and leaving the eponymous village.
Coming up, Rhona finds a place to hide with baby Ivy, in a secret holiday cottage – but she’s not alone as Vanessa is by her side.
Rhona asks Vanessa to help her and Ivy navigate a move to start a new life across the pond… in Canada.
Vanessa tries to talk Rhona out of this but the latter refuses to abandon the idea.
Meanwhile, Rhona’s mother Mary (Louise Jameson) and husband Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) convince Gus not to immediately call the police about Ivy’s kidnapping.
Despite his own hard feelings, Gus gives them until midday to find Rhona.
In other scenes, Vanessa tries to call Marlon about the situation, but without a signal, she is unable to reach him.
Gus grows increasingly impatient as the deadline approaches and a nervous Marlon agrees to call the police himself.
However, with Vanessa managing to establish contact and thus betraying Rhona’s location, Mary begs Marlon to go talk to his wife instead, which Gus reluctantly allows.
Marlon arrives at the cottage just as Rhona is about to leave with Ivy.
Though initially defiant, Rhona finally seems to understand the ramifications of her actions as Marlon reasons with her.
Sadly, Gus and the police soon show up to arrest a devastated Rhona for kidnap.
Vanessa was last seen in the Dales in late, 2022, when she left the village for a job opportunity in Canada.
At the time of her exit, Vanessa was romantically involved with Suzy Merton but the pair called it quits as she was leaving.
With Suzy set for a potential romance with her pal Mary Goskirk, Rhona’s mother, soap fans are eager to see Vanessa reignite her own spark with Charity.
The Woolpack landlady has been married to Mackenzie Boyd for several months but their marriage is far from happy and stable.
Will Charity and Vanessa give things another go?
4. Intense court battle
Whatever the case may be, viewers of the long-running drama will have to wait before finding out what’s in store for Vanessa, particularly as she could also be reunited with her sister Tracy Robinson (Amy Walsh).
In the meantime, many of them have shared their thoughts about Rhona’s current storyline, mentioned above.
According to them, Rhona may even have grounds to kick off a huge battle for baby Ivy as her former husband Gus tries to snatch his daughter away from her.
“She should take him to court!”, one fuming viewer wrote.
They added: “First of all he used her egg without her consent, ran off for ages leaving her literally holding the baby. I think Rhona has a pretty strong case.”
The vet has already asked for advice from solicitor Ethan Anderson (Emile John) in recent weeks.
Could she pick his brain once again before trying to get custody of Ivy?
5. Abuser rumbled by soap legend
Wedding bells are also due to ring this week in the Dales – but not everybody is happy to see Belle Dingle tie the knot with Tom King.
The son of villainous Carl King portrayed by James Chase made his way back to the Dales in 2023 after a decade in Saudi Arabia.
Upon his return, he bumped into former girlfriend Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) and, despite the time that had passed since they’d last spoken, they hit it off again immediately.
Unfortunately, nothing is ever really smooth sailing for the residents of the eponymous village and, soon enough, Tom showed he had a dark side.
After his initial proposal was refused by Belle, Tom lashed out, pushing her and leaving her bloodied which led viewers of the Yorkshire-based program to believe she may be set for a domestic violence storyline.
Belle eventually came round, proposing to her other half with the help of ice dancing duo Torvill and Dean – but Tom’s red flags are still present.
Coming up, the lovebirds get ready for their wedding ceremony but, ahead of their big day, Tom is thrown that Belle does not want to take his surname.
She offers a reasonable explanation and Tom is thwarted but the issue weigh heavy on Tom’s mind the following day.
Eager to make her future husband happy, Belle agrees to become the future Mrs King after all.
Plans are soon afoot for Belle’s night at Wishing Well ahead of her wedding.
In later scenes, Belle is emotional as she realises that neither of her parents will be there for her big day.
She moots cancelling but Tom is hurt, reminding her that neither of his parents will be there either and he storms off in a mood.
It’s the day of the wedding and Belle has not heard from Tom and she doesn’t even know if the wedding will be going ahead as he continues to ignore her calls.
Although Lydia (Karen Blick) and Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) do their best to rally her, Belle worries the ceremony is off.
Meanwhile, Jimmy King (Nick Miles) tries to give his nephew Tom some perspective.
Jimmy’s hard work pays off as Belle is soon relieved when Tom texts to confirm the wedding is still on.
Now able to make the most of her wedding day, she enjoys being fussed over by Lydia and Mandy.
There’s excitement amongst the guests as they prepare for the wedding outside the Church.
Sam Dingle (James Hooton) then arrives just in the nick of time to give Belle away, bringing a letter from her mother Lisa with him.
However, Tom finds another issue and becomes frustrated by the Dingles’ oddities as the ceremony commences.
The couple prepare to take their vows and after a pinch of disruption, the happy pair finally get wed.
Unfortunately, their reception is soon thrown into chaos as Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly) drops a bombshell about her husband Caleb Miligan (Will Ash).
While viewers will have to wait before finding out what happens next, one episode aired last week has hinted that someone close to Belle may see right through Tom’s act.
Belle’s brother Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) has made it clear he was not a big fan of the hunk as she was telling his wife Moira that Tom was pressing ahead with their wedding plans.
The bride-to-be complained that she had to stop Tom from spending a fortune on their big day to which Cain responded with disdain for the latter.
“It doesn’t bother you? That you might be marrying an idiot”, he said.
Could Cain be the one to stop Tom from hurting Belle?
Could he make him pay the same way he made Craig Reed pay for raping Lydia Dingle?
Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.