Seven shocking Emmerdale spoilers for this week as another villager leaves the Dales
THE eponymous village has been losing residents left, right and centre in recent weeks.
Another exit is added to the tally this week as Vanessa Woodfield leaves her life in Emmerdale behind.
1. Leyla and Suzy caught with drugs
Viewers of the Yorkshire-based soap have been waiting for the day Vanessa Woodfield would be leaving the village.
Actress Michelle Hardwick has already left the set of the show to go on maternity leave and welcome her second child with Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks.
However, her on-screen exit is yet to be aired.
And before Vanessa can leave the Dales again, she has to tie up a few loose ends - which includes her relationship with Suzy Merton (played by Martelle Edinborough.
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Coming up on ITV, Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) has a big decision to make about buying Jamie's share of the veterinary business as Vanessa gets ready to leave for Canada.
This will wreak havoc for Vanessa, causing her stress before her departure.
Time runs out when Kim Tate (Claire King) arrives, demanding an answer.
Soon, Vanessa is unimpressed when her pal Rhona tells her about buying Jamie's share and things get heated between them.
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Tensions escalate as Rhona reveals the conditions of the new contract - Kim will be getting 15% off veterinary bills.
This prompts Vanessa to let her know she's accepting a new job opportunity across the Atlantic ocean.
The tipsy and fuming pair continue to argue and hit rock bottom when they both bring up things which are better left in the past.
Vanessa will also be facing the end of her romance with Suzy.
Following her altercation with Rhona, she's nursing a mighty hangover and with Suzy missing, Vanessa is anxious.
She's stunned to find her partner giggling with Leyla Cavanagh (Roxy Shahidi) amongst a mass of cake, tissue and tears.
Vanessa is furious, convinced Suzy is back on the drugs but it's revealed she got the wrong end of the stick.
Suzy is tired of setting a stubborn Vanessa straight, feeling like she constantly needs to prove herself.
Leyla takes it upon herself to correct Vanessa and provides evidence of their sobriety.
The vet is mortified, realising she jumped to conclusions.
Sadly, this will be the nail in the coffin for Vanessa and Suzy.
The pair are heartbroken as they come to terms with the fact their relationship is over.
2. Vanessa leaves the village
Vanessa doesn't let the breakup deter her from attending her farewell party at The Woolpack but everyone is shocked to find out that Suzy won't be joining her in Canada.
Emotions run high and Vanessa is in a flood of tears as she realises things are over for her in the Dales.
Residents say their emotional goodbyes to Vanessa while she puts the last of her belongings in the taxi driving her away from Emmerdale.
Will Vanessa Woodfield ever come back?
3. David faces comeuppance
David Metcalfe has stopped at nothing to keep his business afloat - even if it meant taking advantage of his partner's trust in him.
The shopkeeper portrayed by Matthew Wolfenden crossed a line by making Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) get a ticket for a crime he actually committed.
This week, after David finally comes clean about his betrayal, Victoria is absolutely furious and threatens to go to the police herself if he doesn't clear up his own mess.
David is left to plead his case in an interview room and hopes he has said enough to the investigating police officer.
Word of David's betrayal gets round quickly as Victoria tells Ryan, Bear and Marlon about it all while in the Hide.
Will he get into trouble?
4. Another couple call it quits
David is set for a terrible week as his betrayal is too much to handle for Victoria.
The pair become the third couple to separate in a matter of days after Vanessa and Suzy as well as Leyla and Liam Cavanagh.
After facing the authorities, he arrives to tell her the news but Victoria is at the end of her tether.
In later scenes, David finds Victoria moving her things out of their home, leaving him crushed when she breaks up with him.
Victoria is given a key to Dale View by Wendy Posner - but she's struggling to convince herself she's doing the right thing.
David is heartbroken but remains determined to try and win Victoria back.
He's then annoyed to see Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) working in his shop but his father Eric Pollard explains he's the new delivery driver, much to David's ire.
David starts to break down in front of Bear as upsetting events pile up and the latter offers him some wise words of advice.
Bear leaves and David has a light-bulb moment.
Later on, Leyla Cavanagh and Pollard arrive at the shop to see it decked out in Christmas decorations.
But they're not feeling festive - the pair are concerned that David is putting himself in more debt for the wrong reasons.
How will David claw himself out of potential bankruptcy?
5. Kim makes a shock decision
After some hard times which involved the death of Harriet Finch, Kim Tate is ready to look ahead.
The businesswoman adds another business venture to her ever-growing list of endeavours this week.
Excited to get it all in place, she talks about her ideas with husband Will Taylor (Dean Andrews).
It's revealed Kim has decided to open up a new stud farm out of her love for horses.
She receives a positive response and, soon enough, Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) hears about the idea.
The young mother is delighted when Kim offers her a position to work at Home Farm.
But there's more for Kim, this week.
Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) expresses her joy when she tells Kim that her former partner Alex has signed a private consent form.
Little does she know Kim and Will both played a part in this.
The pair hope their secret is kept intact.
But will it last?
EMMERDALE NEWS
Everything you need to know about Emmerdale
- New, leaving and returning Emmerdale cast
- Where is Emmerdale filmed?
- All the Emmerdale spoilers
- Our soap spoiler live blog with up to date news
- The history of Emmerdale's iconic pub The Woolpack
6. Bernice gets troubling diagnosis
Thrown into the side-lines as her sister faced her attacker, Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles) is pushed back into the spotlight for a new storyline.
But could her health be in severe danger?
It all begins when Bernice is flustered and, while at the salon, Bear Wolf makes an ill-advised joke towards her.
Offended, she goes to squirt Bear with the hose but actually hits Mandy Dingle's (Lisa Riley) new potential client instead.
Bernice, Mandy and Bear look on in horror as she switches the water off that has soaked the Care Home Manager.
She then finds it hard to control her emotions and storms out, leaving Mandy and Bear both bemused by her behaviour.
In later scenes, Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) consoles Bernice as she opens up about how she's been feeling.
Knowing she's in pain, Bob urges her to turn to her doctor, village GP Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) - who also happens to be her former partner.
But Bob's concerns grow when Bernice begins to cry.
Things go from bad to worse for her when her daughter Gabby Thomas accidentally plants the seed that convinces Bernice she may have dementia.
Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), however, believes she may be going through menopause and Bernice refuses to hear another word of it.
When she's at the local surgery, and instead of being relieved, Bernice slams out angry when Liam reveals she doesn't have dementia.
According to him, it's more likely that she's going through menopause - but could he be wrong?
7. Matty confronts Cain
Amy Wyatt and Moira Dingle ran from the Dales in the aftermath of Al Chapman's death.
This left Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) with many questions and he's determined to get the answers he wants from Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).
Determined to find out the truth about his girlfriend and his mother, Matty is just as ready to get to the bottom of Cain Dingle's reasoning for murdering Al Chapman.
This is despite Chas' attempts to divert his attention.
The Woolpack pub manager, who knows who really killed her illicit lover, freaks out when Matty reveals he has a visiting order to see Cain behind bars.
Matty meets up with the village tough man in the visitors room and lays out his case but he's instantly shot down.
Cain leaves, relieved as he believes he has put Matty's suspicions to rest.
Unbeknownst to him, Matty doesn't believe a single word he has said.
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Will he find out Cain is taking the fall to protect his son Kyle?
Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV.