Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) is fast becoming Emmerdale’s number one ratbag and Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) can no longer protect him.

He began to turn to the dark side when he stole Ray Walters’ (Joe Absolom) bag which transpired to contain drugs and money. Instead of giving it back, he kept it and while Laurel ditched the drugs on his behalf, Arthur kept the money and started imagining himself living the high-baller life.

He flashed his new cash, buying himself a new phone and showing it off to April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), which wasn’t the smartest move as she ended up tugging at his heartstrings over how poor Ray has left her family, making Arthur thinking perhaps he should hand over the cash.

But moral-less Arthur managed to stave off that thought and held on to the money with plans to nick off to Australia.

Laurel was horrified at how cold her son had become, they rowed, and she scratched him with the ring. This was the moment that cemented Arthur becoming the little devil he now is.

But there is worse to come. With another row between mother and son brewing, Arthur will rapidly lost his cool and do the unthinkable – push Laurel in a fit of rage and give her a head injury.

She is rushed to hospital with concussion with Arthur feeling somewhat sheepish. Initially, it appears she doesn’t know what had happened and Arthur feels guilty at the prospect of having damaged her memory.

But she’s hiding something.

When Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) questions her, Laurel sticks to her account that she blacked out and fell on the stairs, but Nicola is worried there is a medical explanation for her friend’s fall.

Arthur is sweating; no one yet knows he did this atrocious thing to his mum, but he knows it will come out soon.

After Laurel is treated, Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) is horrified to see Laurel experience a dizzy moment. It piques Arthur’s guilt as he starts to wonder if his actions have caused Laurel lasting damage.

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He need not have worried. Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) conducts a home visit and sends Gabby and Arthur away for a moment alone with her patient. Will Laurel tell her what really happened?

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Emmerdale’s Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) is doing everything in his power to try and save his dad, but he can’t be in several different places at once.

Trying to protect Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) from the realities of his actions has become a fulltime job for the vet.

Bear is still in a state of trauma from his experience of the human trafficking ring, followed by him accidentally killing his captor, Ray Walters (Joe Absolom). For weeks, Paddy battled to keep his dad from revealing his part in Ray’s death.

Paddy’s priority has remained his dad, even going up against Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) in the face of Cain trying to pry the truth from the frail old man to save his wife Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb), Paddy firmly put his foot down to protect Bear.

What a waste of time that was. Ultimately, Bear couldn’t cope with his regret and sadness, and told DS Walsh everything. Well, almost everything. He kept secret the parts that Paddy and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) played in the body disposal.

Fragile Bear is heading for another bump in the road with Ray’s burial around the corner.

Dylan is also struggling with his complex emotions attached to Ray’s death and Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) too is also battling her conscience. She decides Ray should have at least someone there.

For Paddy, Dylan, and Mandy, it’s the contrary and they try and keep it a secret from Bear for fear it may break him. Unfortunately for their best laid plans, Claudette Anderson (Flo Wilson) puts her size sixes in and lets the cat out of the bag.

So now Paddy must cope with a traumatised Bear insisting he attend the ceremony and neither Laurel or Claudette can talk him down.

Paddy doesn’t find out until afterwards though, and is left with the aftermath of the event. In response, he utterly loses his mind at Laurel and her reckless behaviour putting Bear at risk.

And he’s right, Bear rages at his son, revealing his fresh trauma and start of a new spiral.

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Laurel finds Bear drinking on his own and tries to get him to open up.

Actress Charlotte Bellamy shares that the pair have an unusual connection.

‘A really lovely sort of relationship starts to form between them that is kind of a connection. Of course, Bear sort of, a bit like the Stockholm Syndrome, kind of feels the same, like she does. So they’re both kind of conflicted with pain but also, she loved Ray and Bear loved Ray in a weird sort of way.’

But Bear’s struggles are deepening by the second.

Having not got the painkillers he needs from Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker), he heads to hospital with a cut hand on a mission to get what he needs. But with the state he’s in, chaos ensues. He’s dangerous without meaning to be, who will fall foul of Bear’s mental decline?

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