Emmerdale’s Laurel Thomas reels in the wake of Ray Walters’ murder next week – and the fact that her close friends knew how evil he was all along. Feeling duped, Laurel calls out the lack of loyalty from Marlon Dingle and Rhona Goskirk.

As Laurel attends the church to reflect and pray, she bumps into Marlon on her way out. Outside, Laurel’s exchange with Marlon is far colder than usual, as she chastises her ex for failing to mention Ray’s criminal activities to her sooner.

 

 

Local vicar Charles Anderson soon approaches and invites them both for a chat, but Laurel refuses and leaves the two men behind.

“It was Dylan who ultimately stepped up to warn Laurel that Ray couldn’t be trusted,” our Emmerdale source reminds us. “Laurel was horrified that she’d welcomed Ray into her home and let him get close to her kids after everything he’d done.

“Deluded Ray hoped to still make things work with Laurel, but she cut all ties with him.”

Given all the other heavy thoughts on his mind, Marlon struggles with the weight of Laurel’s words.

How will Marlon cope with all the grief and distress surrounding him? And will poor Laurel accept help from those closest to her?

Ray’s death was revealed to viewers at the start of this week, as an unknown assailant was seen dragging his body off somewhere.

We then caught a glimpse of Ray’s remains in Corriedale – his corpse had been hidden in the back of a van being driven by Jai Sharma.

Next week, Ray’s body is found at Caleb Miligan’s depot and a police investigation is launched to figure out who killed him. Unsurprisingly, Laurel and Marlon are both suspects…

Emmerdale’s producer Laura Shaw recently told us: “Following the discovery of Ray’s body, villagers’ secrets will come out as the mystery surrounding Ray’s death is finally solved.

“Before the end of January, a special week will flash back to the night of the murder, revealing which of the multiple suspects is responsible for Ray’s demise.”

Emmerdale could have hinted at the identity of Rhona Goskirk’s mystery caller in recent scenes.

Corriedale has delivered many shocking moments for soap fans, with the return of Graham Foster, who was thought to be dead, being among the jaw-dropping twists of the crossover episode.

As Rhona and Graham were in a loving relationship, abruptly interrupted by his “death”, it wouldn’t be a far cry to have them reunite, though it wouldn’t be necessarily romantic.

Amid her stepdaughter April Windsor’s disappearance and her exploiter, Ray Walters, turning up dead, Rhona could’ve asked Graham for a little help to sort things out without getting dirty herself.