Four massive ITV Emmerdale theories: secret siblings and abuser further isolates his victim
One fan favourite could be hiding a huge crime
LIAM Cavanagh finally gets a new love interest this week as he grows increasingly close to Ella Forster.
The Emmerdale newcomer keeps up appearances much like another villainous villager who could push his drained wife over the edge.
1. Secret sister
Life in the eponymous ITV village is nothing short of eventful but for Liam Cavanagh (played by Jonny McPherson), it has also involved catastrophe and tragedy.
After losing his daughter to serial killer Meena Jutla, Liam faced loss again when his marriage with Leyla Harding went downhill due to her cocaine addiction.
Keen to find love again, Liam then embarked on an affair with Wendy Posner, only for Bob Hope to find out and the nurse to choose the B&B owner over the GP.
In more recent months, sparks appeared to fly between Liam and Chas Dingle, after he flirted with her cousin Charity but, despite a steamy romp, the budding romance appears to be part of the past.
Chas continues to face triple negative breast cancer while Liam remains a free agent in the Yorkshire Dales.
But with the arrival of Ella Forster (Paula Lane), Liam gets another chance to spice up his love life as the pair share undeniable chemistry.
Unfortunately, the growing bond is leaving Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) unimpressed.
Manpreet calls a team meeting with a chastised Liam when she catches him flirting with Ella again.
Despite her best efforts, Manpreet can’t do anything to stop the connection and romance continues to blossom later on between Liam and Ella.
Liam is then delighted when Ella agrees to go on a date.
But could he be in danger?
Viewers of the long-running program have speculated that Ella may have a link to Meena Jutla after she showed eagerness to know more about the sinister nurse’s actions before she was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
However, another theory about Ella’s big secret has been circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, and according to this speculation, the newcomer may actually be closer to the Dingles than expected.
Much like Caleb Miligan before her, Ella could be another long-lost Dingle as one viewer suggested she may Kathleen Dingle’s daughter.
The soap fan pushed their theory even further by revealing they’d like to see Ella ditch Liam to hook up with Vanessa Woodfield, Charity Dingle’s former fiancée.
“Paula Lane’s great!”, the viewer first exclaimed.
“I’m excited she’s joined Emmerdale! I pitch Ella should forget Liam & hook up with (Vanessa) instead & then we’ll find out she’s Kathleen Dingle’s long lost daughter as (Kathleen) didn’t really die & Charity will have to deal with V having a hot new girlfriend who is also (her) sister!”
Diehard fans will remember that Kathleen was the mother of Charity Dingle and has been said to have died when the Woolpack landlady was very young.
Kathleen is known to have committed suicide, although Charity was told by her father Obadiah that she succumbed to cancer.
Could Ella be the support Charity needs as her PTSD symptoms continue to make her life difficult?
2. Crime catches up with fan favourite
Meanwhile, another Dales icon could have landed herself in trouble.
Actress Laura Norton reprised the role of Kerry Wyatt in recent soap scenes, immediately bringing trouble with her as she was escorted back to the Dales by PC Swirling, while dressed up as Cher.
She was then left to explain to her daughter Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson) why she’d been accused of stealing by her new fiancé, met during her time off-screen.
Kerry added that, after working as a Cher impersonator, she’d thrown her ring at her mysterious fiancé, Malcolm, whom she had not said a word about to Amy.
Coming up, Kerry’s mistakes may catch up with her as she dodges cryptic phone calls.
She tries her best to hide her concern during the Woolpack quiz as she receives another mysterious call.
One viewer theorised that Kerry may have turned to another line of work to make ends meet following her job on a cruise ship… or worse, she could have resorted to a life of crime in secrecy.
“Kerry is either raking it in on Onlyfans or robbed an old lady coming out of a post office with all that till”, the soap watcher penned on social media.
Elsewhere in the village, heartbreak looms with another legend set for extreme danger under her own roof.
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3. Mandy takes action
Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) and Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) agreed to give their relationship another chance last year.
But in recent weeks, as the Woolpack manager was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, Paddy has been harbouring complicated feelings for his ex-wife.
Conflicted, Paddy let his emotions get the best of him while Mandy’s back was turned and kissed Chas.
Following the kiss, the former couple agreed this hadn’t been the right course of action and Paddy opts for being honest with his other half.
But all hell is about to break loose as Mandy makes a shock discovery about Paddy and his kiss with Chas.
Coming up, the family reunites when Paddy brings his daughter Eve round to see Chas (Lucy Pargeter).
It’s awkward when Mandy then shows up as Chas and Paddy’s kiss hangs in the air like an elephant in the room.
Chas braces herself when Mandy confronts her about the kiss with Paddy.
After a tense exchange, Chas is stunned to hear that Mandy’s keen to draw a line under the situation.
Later on in the week, at Marlon’s not-so-surprise 50th birthday party, Mandy is furious when Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) lets slip that Chas broke off the kiss, not Paddy.
How will Mandy react as she struggles to digest this new piece of information?
While this remains to be seen, Mandy may be tempted to take a stand for Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) as her abuse ordeal also escalates during Marlon’s birthday party.
Could she be the one to stand in between Belle and her increasingly controlling husband Tom King (James Chase), pushing her own issues to the side to help?
4. Devastating exit
Since rekindling his romance with Belle last year after a decade of separation from her, Tom displayed troubling behaviour, ranging from verbal humiliation to gaslighting and even physical violence.
Despite enduring acts of clear psychological abuse, even on her own wedding day, Belle has been keeping quiet about her ordeal.
Sadly, she may not have much more time to call for help.
This week, Tom takes his mind games to another level after Belle continues to put her career before her dream of building a family of her own.
Tom, who has been keen to rush into commitment right from the get-go, is stressed and irritable as he continues to berate Belle for her decision to postpone having children.
Unfortunately for him, Tom is soon caught up with the truth as Belle finds out he tried to sabotage a job opportunity with local wedding and event planner Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough).
In later scenes, Suzy is surprised to find Belle working the reception at the vet surgery, where Tom works.
Tom, who has been keen to rush into commitment right from the get-go, is stressed and irritable as he continues to berate Belle for her decision to postpone having children.
Unfortunately for him, Tom is soon caught up with the truth as Belle finds out he tried to sabotage a job opportunity with local wedding and event planner Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough).
In later scenes, Suzy is surprised to find Belle working the reception at the vet surgery, where Tom works.
Suzy alludes to an unaware Belle about the job offer at Take A Vow.
Furious, Belle still decides to cover for Tom and pretends he passed on the message.
But once she’s home and able to confront him with her discovery, Belle accuses Tom of lying to Suzy.
Despite her anger, Tom’s manipulation works a charm as he manages to appease her.
When Belle accepts the job, however, Tom’s true colours pop back out and he is fuming when Suzy describes Belle’s first client as her “perfect match.”
As mentioned above, things only get worse for Belle at Marlon’s birthday party – but how far will Tom go to have complete control over Belle?
This remains to be seen but one could theorise he would be willing to make Belle leave Emmerdale altogether, dragging her away from any potential support she could be receiving from villagers.
Worse still, the mystery surrounding Colleen King’s death remains as Tom has refused to talk in detail about his mother – could he be responsible for her passing?
Could he make Belle disappear in a similar fashion?
Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.