FAN favourite Lydia Dingle will be taken advantage of by her childhood sweetheart Craig Reed in devastating scenes this week.
But what kind of mayhem could this wreak across Emmerdale? Get the lowdown on the potential drama ahead.
1. Shock baby truth
Kind-hearted and devoted family woman Lydia Dingle (played by Karen Blick) has been a major source of support for Amelia Spencer as she immediately accepted her role as grandmother for baby Esther.
As a result, she decided to find a way to make some extra cash – which eventually led her to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart Craig Reed (Ben Addis) at a local job fair.
The pair have slowly bonded again with Craig offering Lydia a job and her stepson Samson a work experience placement.
Coming up, Lydia and her husband Sam Dingle (James Hooton), who has been worried about Craig coming back into his other half's life, are left confused when Craig arrives back at Wishing Well unannounced.
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Intent on confronting an elephant in the room, he hopes he can talk to Lydia about their past and she nervously offers to take him to their baby’s resting place.
Later, Craig and Lydia look over where their baby's ashes were scattered and imagine what his life would have been like.
They reflect on their lives and it becomes clear their shared grief has bonded them.
However, one viewer has theorised a baby twist ahead for the pair – what if their son was actually alive?
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"So…. I'm thinking Lydia and her baby daddy will go to the baby's grave and the baby ain't in it", the soap fan penned.
"That's how they'll learn he's alive. And the search begins. Hopefully, somewhere along she'll lose that half wit, idiot husband of hers. He's terrible."
While this theory has yet to come to our screens, Lydia is set to be thrown in rape horror as Craig Reed's intentions become clear.
2. Brutal revenge plot
Following their visit to their baby's grave, Lydia and Craig share a charged moment but she decides to keep the near kiss a secret from her husband.
The following day, Lydia’s anxious at Home Farm as she snaps at Kim Tate (Claire King) before sharing about her charged moment with Craig.
Before long, at his office, Lydia hands in her resignation but falters when Craig emphasises how much their recent connection has meant to him.
She takes back her resignation but worries if she’s making the right call due to their renewed connection and her commitment to Sam.
Soon, Craig reveals his true feelings for Lydia and she’s terrified when he begins to force himself on her.
In a state of utter shock after being raped by Craig, Lydia’s unable to process what has just happened to her.
Craig drives an utterly broken Lydia home in an attempt to sweep things under the rug.
Making her excuses, Lydia escapes upstairs.
Killing a call from Craig, Lydia silently sobs as the shower’s hot water runs over her.
Lydia takes the decision to hide away the clothes she was wearing when she was raped, resolved to keep her trauma a secret.
Secrets rarely stay under wraps in the Yorkshire Dales which could imply that Lydia will eventually open up about her ordeal.
But in doing so, she may trigger a brutal revenge plot as her husband Sam could be determined to avenge her.
To make matters more harrowing, he may received help from Emmerdale tough man Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) who is never against using brutal force to make a point.
And with the latter's relationship with Caleb Milligan (Will Ash) improving, could he embroil him in the feud?
3. Major secret slips out
Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) and Gabby Thomas have both agreed to keep their near-kiss a secret from Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley).
But when the expecting mother seems to share chemistry with another man in the eponymous village, could they both have to come clean about their charged moment?
This week, after Rishi Sharma's accidental death, Thomas King (James Chase) makes a huge decision and it leaves his girlfriend Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) feeling insecure.
It all begins when Tom says he’s looking for a new place possibly away from the village.
Later on, Belle’s thrown to see a hint of chemistry between a married Dawn Fletcher and her partner Tom.
Pulling up to the vets' in his fancy new car, Tom unwittingly leaves Belle unimpressed when she spots him offering to take pregnant Dawn for a spin in it.
Later, in a bid to make peace, Dawn invites a reluctant Belle to bring Tom along on a double date with herself and Billy but tensions soon rise.
Could Billy drop his bombshell on Dawn this week?
One viewer is convinced Dawn's marriage with Billy could descend into chaos soon – and Gabby may be targeted.
"If Dawn Taylor will find out about it, we all know that Dawn Taylor will kill her", the soap fan wrote.
To top it off, the viewer speculated that Kim Tate could even "help her kill Gabby and take her son" Thomas.
As a result, this viewers has theorised Dawn will pay the price for Gabby's demise with her unborn baby.
"I still think Dawn Taylor [will loose] her baby on Christmas Day", they added.
Could they be on to something?
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4. New arrivals in the works
Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) was left in tatters when her father Dan was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of her stalker Lloyd.
Dan enjoyed his last moments of freedom with Amelia and Esther in tear-jerking scenes before being thrown behind bars.
Since then, Amelia has tried to adapt to her new life, juggling with a job at Mandy Dingle's beauty salon and her responsibilities as a mother.
Her boyfriend Noah Dingle (Jack Downham), along with Sam and Lydia Dingle, have all made sure to support her as best as they could.
But in scenes airing this week, Amelia opens up to her other half about her anxieties of living alone.
This prompts her to make a shocking decision for both herself and Esther.
Viewers have speculated that Amelia may leave Emmerdale altogether, unable to cope with the pressure of living alone in the village.
This has led one fan to turn to X (formerly known as Twitter) and share their theory.
"With Amelia moving out of her house there’s room for Suzy’s family", they wrote.
Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) first settled in the Dales in 2022 and although her past was briefly explored through the death of Holly Barton, she remains shrouded in mystery.
Could viewers finally learn more about her?
5. Huge love square
The love triangle drama continues as Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) recently cheated on Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland) with former wife Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).
However, following their surprise tryst , Mack decided to stick with Chloe and their son Reuben.
But recent snaps have suggested Chloe may know a tragic fate and with Charity's budding connection with Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), things could be getting messy between both couples according to one soap fan.
"So apparently Mack has unfinished business with Charity in the coming months, Charity is going to go on a date with Liam, I think initially Charity will use Liam but will get real feelings for him", they shared.
"And why wouldn't she? Liam is successful, Mack is basically a grease monkey earning a low wage, why would Charity go back to supporting him?"
"Also Chloe, it’s clear Mack is settling for her and for Reuben, nothing more or less, he straight up admitted that he and Charity make more sense and is excited by her and Chloe is 'safe' aka boring (the second time in two days someone has described Chloe as this)."
"Someone said that Mack will be forced to decide who to save in a stunt, Chloe or Charity, I reckon he saves Charity and leaves Chloe to die, now whether she’s killed off or not is irrelevant but if Chloe survives this and she knows about him and Charity, then it’s curtains for the most boring relationship in the shows history."
"If not and Chloe dies, then it’ll be Mack in a situation where he’s hopeful that Charity will help him raise Reuben, she says no and commits to Liam, leading to the Liam, Charity and Mack triangle in 2024."
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Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.
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