Emmerdale airs Mary Goskirk’s return scenes tonight – and her comeback is bad news for daughter Rhona and son-in-law Marlon. As the couple desperately try to pretend that everything is normal in their family home, it’s clear that they’re facing an impossible mission.

Mary headed off to spend time at a retreat in Cornwall at the start of the month, so she missed the big moment that Rhona and Marlon discovered their daughter April Windsor had started dealing drugs for Ray Walters and Celia Daniels.

 

 

In Monday’s visit to the Dales, Mary is back and looking forward to a very merry Christmas surrounded by her family. Rhona and Marlon are wrong-footed, though – they’ve been so stressed dealing with April’s problems that they’d forgotten Mary was due to come home.

Rhona and Marlon make out that there’s nothing to update Mary on, but she reveals that she already knows about Dylan Penders’ horrifying road incident.

“The cab driver said there’d been a hit and run in the area in the last few days,” Mary explains. “Young lad called Dylan, he said. Made the local news.”

Later, she asks Rhona: “I don’t find out about it until now. No text? No nothing? Now I am home, I’ve got both you and Marlon clamming up on me. It’s a bit strange.”

Rhona and Marlon try to spin the situation as best they can, claiming that they didn’t want to ruin Mary’s trip with the bad news about Dylan.

When Mary still won’t let it go, it’s obvious that Rhona and Marlon have underestimated her inquisitive mind – and they may have a major problem on their hands.

“Rhona knows that her mum is no fool,” our Emmerdale source recently teased. “April did manage to keep her dealing secret for months, but with the situation at home now so tense, it’s highly unlikely that Mary won’t notice.

“In an ideal world, Rhona would be welcoming Mary home for a perfect family Christmas – especially after the grief they faced over April’s disappearance last year. But that now seems impossible…”

Emmerdale’s Ross Barton faces a life-changing decision next week, as he uncovers the truth about Charity Dingle’s baby once and for all. Will he cause chaos for Mackenzie Boyd, Sarah Sugden and Jacob Gallagher by exposing Charity’s deception?

The walls have been closing in on Charity since New Year, when her husband Mack discovered that the baby she’s carrying as a surrogate mother may not be Sarah and Jacob’s. Awkwardly, Mack presumes that he’s the other possible father – in fact, a DNA test has already confirmed that Ross is the dad.

As this messy saga continues next week, Mack consults with Charity over their plans for a secret paternity test – unaware that she’s still deceiving him. Ross finds out what Mack is up to, so he encourages his new mate not to get his hopes up…

“Mack doesn’t listen to Ross’s advice,” our Emmerdale source warns. “As he and Charity return from the paternity test, he’s delighted as Charity confirms that they’ll raise the child together if it turns out to be theirs.

“Mack has always wanted a child of his own with Charity and he’s now getting carried away with the idea yet again. He even starts making plans for how they could talk Sarah and Jacob round – he’s earning extra money for a possible second surrogacy and is determined to help them.”