Five shock ITV Emmerdale theories: prison baby plot, explosive addiction storyline and heartbreaking exit
NEW feuds are brewing in the eponymous village after Angelica King confessed she was behind the wheel when Heath Hope died.
The Emmerdale teen faces legal trouble this week while Cathy Hope is in the clear. But could she still end up in a prison cell with her pal?
1. Horrific repercussions
Cathy Hope fiercely blamed her pal Angelica King (portrayed by Rebecca Bakes) for the death of her twin brother Heath Hope.
As ITV viewers will remember, the trio of teens conspired to steal Wendy Posner's car and drive to a New Year's Eve party in Hotten.
But when Angelica supposedly took the wheel, things took a deadly turn and Heath Hope succumbed to fatal injuries.
Angelica let Cathy take the fall for her actions and Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) has struggled to believe his daughter Cathy is innocent due to her long track record of poor behaviour, which ranges from bullying to angry and violent outbursts triggered by her PMDD.
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However, in the King household, the guilt caught up with Angelica as she revealed that her friend was not lying after all - she was driving Wendy's car at the time Heath died.
Bob found out the truth but his relationship with Cathy is somewhat damaged by his lack of faith in her.
This week, the B&B owner is left shaking with anger when Jimmy King (Nick Miles) admits he was the one who told Angelica to lie about her involvement in Heath's death.
Both the King and Hope families have struggled to get along in the past but could Heath's death reopen old wounds?
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Although Angel has been pointed out as the real culprit, some viewers of the Yorkshire-based program believe that Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling) should still be held accountable for her own actions.
As regular watchers will recall, Cathy had the idea to steal Wendy's vehicle and drive it illegally outside the village, which is still a crime.
Over on social media such as X, formerly known as Twitter, many TV fans have put Cathy and her father Bob on blast.
"Bob, Cathy is still part responsible she did nick the booze & car", one of them reminded other viewers.
Another agreed: "But Cathy did nick the car, Bob. He'd still be alive if she hadn't done that. She should be in court too."
"How much longer do we have to endure the innocent Cathy narrative? Bob should still want her head on a stick!", a third fan added.
But will the authorities really charge Cathy with another crime after the traumatic death of her sibling?
2. Pregnancy twist
Whatever is in the cards for Cathy remains a mystery but, over in the King household, panic is at an all-time high for Angelica.
Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) is gloomy this week as she returns from resigning her post at the council, well aware she cannot be involved in politics if she's on the wrong side of the law.
Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and his wife are later both apprehensive as they tell Angelica there’s a date for her hearing.
Village solicitor Ethan Anderson (Emile John) then delivers Nicola the bad news Angelica will likely face a custodial sentence.
The following day, the Kings prepare for Angelica’s hearing and Nicola urges Jimmy not to tell Angelica about her potential custodial sentence.
However, Jimmy is unsure if it’s the best strategy for their little girl as he's determined to do things right.
Jimmy is then shocked by a huge turn of event triggered by Nicola’s distress.
She desperately seeks a way out of Angelica’s situation by lying once again and saying she isn't guilty after all.
He immediately argues against this and Nicola, conflicted, accepts they can help their daughter without making her lie.
But will she really respect this?
Fans of the long-running soap have speculated that Nicola's devious nature may take over as she grows increasingly desperate to keep her daughter out of trouble.
According to many viewers, soap bosses could tackle teen pregnancy once again with Angelica, though others think it a baby twist may be a ploy concocted by Nicola to help her teen daughter avoid prison altogether.
"My bet is Angel is pregnant (or says she's pregnant) and that Heath was the dad... that's how she'll avoid prison. Don't think they'll send her down cause they won't wanna lose a young actress", one viewer commented on social media.
A second fan echoed: "YES OMG! They did a young pregnancy with Amelia but I guess it’s been a while and Angel is technically old enough now."
"I just feel like they can't get away with many more teen pregnancies though after Gabby and Amelia lol, it'll be Cathy and April next", another concluded.
Could Angelica really be pregnant?
Or will this be another plan the Kings come up with to help her?
3. Overwhelmed villager leaves
While the aftermath of Heath's tragic death continues, one character is caught up in the middle of two warring families - Bob Hope's partner, Wendy Posner.
In recent scenes of the long-running program, the nurse portrayed by Susan Cookson was left in tears by a struggling Bob during a tense exchange at the B&B.
Bob's anger and grief has been having the best of him recently and could be causing more trouble in his already fragile relationship with Wendy.
Viewers remember that Wendy considerably damaged the trust Bob had in her when she snuck around the village to jump into bed with fellow Dales resident Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson).
The village GP has recently stepped up to support Bob in his time of need, mostly due to him understanding the B&B owner's pain.
Fans have recently asked soap bosses to kill the nurse off due to her "whining", perhaps forgetting how much she has been going through herself.
Wendy has also lost a child of her own but the pressure of supporting Bob while also coping with the manifestation of his grief and the reopening of her old wounds could lead her to make a tough decision.
Could Wendy decide to leave Bob and Emmerdale, unable to cope?
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4. Shock storyline
Meanwhile, soap bosses may have some drama lined up for village stalwart Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) following his brutal brawl with nephew Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).
Coming up, Cain is left in a coma and his wife Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb) remains by his bedside.
She is relieved when he finally awakes in upcoming scenes.
Meanwhile, Chas Dingle's (Lucy Pargeter) contempt is clear when Aaron asks her about Cain’s condition.
Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), on the other hand, can’t even look at Aaron and he tells him he deserves everything coming his way.
The doctor finishes examining Cain and gives advice to stay in bed but the tough man decides to go.
Liam is then shocked to hear Cain discharged himself - but could he try to talk some sense into his pal?
Later on, as the family rally behind Cain, an isolated Aaron ponders his next move as it dawns on him that he is definitely an outsider.
The following day, Moira frets as Cain takes more painkillers, but is frustrated when he slams out.
Returning, Moira’s shocked when Cain finally opens up and reveals what has been troubling him.
Spoilers have led fans to believe Cain may be gearing up for his own addiction storyline.
But how will it really play out?
Who could help him?
What will he tell Moira?
5. Inevitable split
Speaking of Mackenzie Boyd, viewers are convinced his marriage with Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) is heading down the drain.
The pair have gone through a considerable amount of obstacles which have nearly brought them straight to a divorce solicitor but, somehow, have always managed to grow stronger.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end in the village and with Mackenzie growing closer to Aaron, many are convinced they could embark on an affair.
To top it all off, Charity is finding it hard to cope with the trauma of Harry's shock death.
The Woolpack landlady is still facing symptoms of PTSD and, according to one soap fan, the ideal solution for her would be to leave Emmerdale.
"She’s going to leave for a while, stay with Debbie up in Scotland, Charity and Mack aren’t talking about their issues, he misses his son and she can’t cope with killing Harry";, they wrote.
This could segue into Charity realising her marriage with Mackenzie is too troubled to fix... and potentially bringing Vanessa Woodfield back to the Dales with her after a long and well-deserved break.
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Could it play out as expected?
Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.