Next week on Emmerdale, Amy’s slip-up puts Matty in danger, Lydia becomes suspicious of Samson, Kim makes a sacrifice to help Billy, and is there hope for Manpreet and Charles?
1) Matty is exposed
Matty’s (Ash Palmisciano) worst nightmare comes true next week, and wife Amy (Natalie Ann Jamieson) is the one to inadvertently put him in danger!
If the fact that Matty has been imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit wasn’t bad enough, his status as a trans man in a male prison makes him an easy target. He has already come under suspicion from inmates for disappearing daily with prison officers—in order to get his prescribed testosterone gel—as well his reluctance to leave his cell and mix with anyone.
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Although he had initially had a cell to himself, he was concerned when the intimidating Les Carmichael (Stacey J Gough) was moved in, fearful that it would be only a matter of time before his secret was out. However, after Les took Matty under his wing and gave him advice about coping in prison, Matty took the brave decision to reveal his secret.
Though curious, Les promised Matty that he would keep things under wraps, and Matty breathed a sigh of relief as Les continued to warn off menacing inmate Robbo (John O’Neill).
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As a result, prison life has become a tiny bit more manageable whilst Matty awaits his court date.
“Because Matty’s used to surviving and he’s used to challenges, he’s kind of gotten to a place where he’s got his anxiety in check,” Ash Palmisciano told EverySoap during a recent press call. “He’s figuring out how to do things in there, how to survive, how to cope.”
“He’s got this amazing cellmate that is is sort of teaching him the way, giving him a few tips here and there. There’s some really nasty characters about, but he’s got this friend protecting him.”
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Amy is encouraged by Matty’s slightly more positive attitude when she visits, as he explains how Les has accepted him as a trans man. With Amy’s news that they’ve also appointed Matty a new solicitor, he hopes that there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.
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When visiting time ends, Amy watches Matty leave as she’s then approached by Robbo. With Robbo’s friendly front fooling her as he talks about Matty, Amy incorrectly assumes that she is talking to Les.
It’s not long before Amy has inadvertently revealed the truth about Matty to one of the prison’s most menacing, transphobic inmates.
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As Matty returns to his cell, Les is called away to meet with his solicitor, leaving him alone as Robbo then lets himself in. Matty’s blood runs cold when Robbo reveals that he’s just had a very interesting conversation with Amy…
“They have this conversation where Robbo makes it obvious that he knows who Matty is without saying it,” Ash explains. “And you can see that the penny drops within Matty.”
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“He just thought he was on the cusp of getting a hold of it and surviving, and he was going to be all right,” Ash continues. “And now he’s been outed by his wife, which is unbelievable. I think Matty thinks at first there’s absolutely no way that she would tell him on purpose, so what has Robbo done to her?”
Robbo later returns and makes it clear that he knows the truth, and Matty is cornered in his cell as Robbo closes in on him…
2) Moira learns of Samson’s getaway plan
Meanwhile, the two who put Matty in this position—Samson (Sam Hall) and his mate Josh (Osian Morgan)—have decided to bring forward their plans to travel Europe.
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Moira (Natalie J Robb) is seething when she becomes aware of this development, and vows to stop the pair from departing whilst Matty languishes in prison.
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Moira storms over to Wishing Well Cottage where she confronts Sam (James Hooton) about Samson leaving early, questioning the reason why. Sam is quick to leap to his son’s defence of course, and when Samson later promises his dad that he will return for Matty’s trial, Sam is satisfied.
But Moira isn’t so convinced, and makes it her mission to stop him leaving the village.
3) Lydia begins to suspect Samson
Stepmum Lydia (Karen Blick) has also maintained Samson’s innocence without question so far, but a chance encounter on Main Street brings some niggling doubts.
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During a heated discussion, Josh puts pressure on Samson to continue lying to the police about what really happened at The Hide, warning him of the consequences if the truth were to come out.
Lydia witnesses this exchange from afar and begins to wonder if she’s been wrong all along in backing Samson.
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Later, Lydia reluctantly meets with Moira who implores her to help Matty who is now facing serious danger. But will Lydia speak up about her suspicions?
4) Kim makes a sacrifice for Billy
Elsewhere, the atmosphere remains fraught at Home Farm following baby Evan’s return home.
The family are doing all they can to shield Evan from any possible infection whilst he battles leukaemia. Gabby (Rosie Bentham) has moved out with son Thomas (Bertie Brotherton), whilst the remaining residents are limiting their contact with outsiders.
Mum Dawn (Olivia Bromley) has barely left Evan’s side since his diagnosis, whilst dad Billy (Jay Kontzle) has been helped by Kim (Claire King), Will (Dean Andrews) and Rose (Christine Tremarco) in caring for other kids Clemmie (Mabel Addison) and Lucas (Noah Ryan Aspinall).
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Next week, as Billy administers Evan his medication, Evan spits it straight back up. An increasingly paranoid Dawn is soon putting the blame on Billy for not doing things properly, and it appears that she’s losing his trust in him.
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With things beginning to get on top of Billy, buddy Nate (Jurell Carter) invites him out for a few drinks. Kim isn’t too impressed when a drunken Billy is later helped home by Nate, but nevertheless formulates a plan to hide him from Dawn and cover for his absence until he sobers up.
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When Evan later develops signs of an infection and is rushed back into hospital, Dawn immediately points fingers at who could have brought germs into the house.
Whilst Billy is secretly harbouring guilt from mixing with Nate, Kim realises that Dawn and Billy’s marriage is under enough strain as it is, and opts to take the blame herself.
5) Rose saves the day
With all the chaos going on around her, Dawn is horrified when she realises that she’s forgotten Clemmie’s birthday.
Dawn and Billy were only granted guardianship of Clemmie last year after her tough upbringing, but her first birthday with them ended up being overshadowed by the reveal that Dawn was pregnant with Evan.
Clemmie had worried that she would be pushed out of the family as a result, and briefly ran away after accidentally injuring Dawn by pushing a dining stool into her stomach.
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With Clemmie facing further devastation on her 9th birthday if she realises that Dawn has forgotten, Dawn’s mum Rose seizes the opportunity to score some brownie points by organising a spontaneous party.
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Dawn and Will are amazed by what Rose has managed to pull off in so little time and express their gratitude. As Rose basks in the glory, Kim finds herself on the outer, excluded from the party following her lack of care around Evan.
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Although Rose currently has the upper hand on Kim, it would appear that she’s beginning to have doubts on her and Ruby’s (Beth Cordingley) secret plan to destroy Kim’s life. When Rose meets up with Ruby, she’s considering pulling out of their deal given all the heartache that is already going on within the family, but Ruby is resolute.
Will Rose’s conscience allow her to proceed now that she’s bonded with Dawn and the kids?
6) Manpreet misses Charles
Also next week, Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) and Charles (Kevin Mathurin) continue to be awkward around each other following their recent split.
Consumed in grief following son Ethan’s (Emile John) death, Charles had dumped Manpreet during a drunken outburst. Although she had hoped that Charles would come around once he’d sobered up, he confirmed that he no longer wanted to be with her.
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Manpreet moved into the B&B, and is doing all she can to be there for Charles in his time of need despite their relationship being over.
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As she checks in with Charles, she tells him that she has missed him.
Does Charles feel the same way, bringing a glimmer of hope for a reconciliation?
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7) Gail has a plan
Things continue to be strained between Mandy (Lisa Riley) and Rhona (Zoe Henry), following their recent disagreement during Paddy’s (Dominic Brunt) board game night.
Paddy had invited Rhona and Marlon (Mark Charnock) to join him and Mandy for the evening, but Mandy wasn’t too keen given that she finds Rhona to be rather dull company.
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One too many drinks as Mandy sat with the others, bored out of her wits, saw her rile up Rhona in front of an embarrassed Paddy, telling her that she needed to loosen up a bit.
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Over in The Woolpack, not wanting to see the ladies fall out, Gail (Rachael Gill-Davis) comes up with a plan to reconcile the two by organising another get-together… but is it doomed to fail?
8) Jai is in denial
As Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) recovers following her shock heart attack this week, Jai (Chris Bisson) is struggling to come to terms with the fact that she has called quits on their marriage.
Just before Laurel had collapsed, the pair had been arguing about his failing to come clean to half-brother Suni (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana) about the true circumstances of father Amit’s departure.
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Laurel ended up telling Suni the awful truth herself from her hospital bed, leading to his departure from the village with boyfriend Nicky (Lewis Cope). Laurel later told Nicola that she could no longer be married to “one of the most corrupt, dishonest, cowardly people I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.”
Nicola supported Laurel as she broke the news to Jai, but next week Laurel worries that the news still hasn’t sunk in as Jai continues to stick around.
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Laurel’s stepdaughter Gabby (Rosie Bentham) is livid when Jai reveals to her that he’ll sticking around at Mulberry Cottage for a while for the kids’ sake, and puts on a happy face in front of them all.
But how long will they be able to keep up the pretence?
