7 Emmerdale Spoilers for Next Week – 4th to 8th August

Next week on Emmerdale, Paddy offers to help Dylan, Steph and Ross reunite, Charity turns to Vanessa after a potential tragedy, and Vinny looks for answers.

1) Dylan’s secret is exposed

Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) made a surprise return to the village this week after a four month absence, but he was quickly a cause of concern for old friend April (Amelia Flanagan) after she discovered he was nursing a nasty injury on his leg.

It transpired that Dylan was one of the masked intruders who infiltrated the barn at Butlers earlier in the week, who 13-year-old Kyle (Huey Quinn) accidentally stabbed with a pitchfork whilst trying to scare them off.

Dylan had been hired by Ray Walters (Joe Absolom)—the man who Robert (Ryan Hawley) sold Lewis’s (Bradley Riches) weed crop to—to scope out the barn and find if there were any more plants on the go. 

Although Dylan had told April that he had turned his life around following rehab, now clean and living in a flatshare in Hotten, April later discovered him camped out in the village cricket pavilion.

Putting two and two together after seeing his leg wounds, April helped clean it up as best she could, with Dylan refusing to go to A&E.

Next week, April is horrified when she arrives back at the pavilion to find Dylan shivering in pain.

Despite April’s insistence that he sees a doctor, Dylan flatly refuses, desperate to keep a low profile. Left with no other choice, April sneaks Dylan into the vets surgery, hoping to avoid attention. 

“She’s going to try and do whatever she can to heal it,” Fred Kettle told EverySoap and other press recently. “Whether that’s a bit of cream, stitches, etc. But then Paddy (Dominic Brunt) ends up walking in, seeing Dylan for the first time in ages, and he’s like ‘What is going on?’”

Though shocked by their presence, Paddy quickly focuses on treating Dylan’s wound.

After learning that Dylan is still homeless, Paddy insists that he stays with him and Mandy at Tenants for the night. But when Mandy and Marlon (Mark Charnock) later arrive at the cottage, they’re surprised to see Dylan, leaving Paddy with some explaining to do.

“Despite Marlon knowing that Dylan helped her on the streets and things, at the end of the day, he’s not the best lad,” Fred admits. “I think when Marlon pictured his daughter hanging around with friends, it wouldn’t be with Dylan, especially with his past.”

“He’s going to be protective over her, which is understandable and I think it’s for Dylan to not try and persuade him to think a certain way, but just let it simmer and relax a little bit. But it is awkward between them both, especially with Marlon having planted drugs on him and things.”

“They try to avoid each other a little bit,” Fred adds. “But then I also think Marlon feels bad, despite him trying to protect his daughter.”

It’s not long before Ray is touching base with Dylan again with the promise of future jobs, and whilst Mandy is otherwise engaged, we see that Dylan has stashes of drugs hidden away in his backpack.

“Since Dylan came out of rehab, he was supposed to be going to hostels to sort of rejuvenate and things,” Fred explains. “But everyone at the hostel was taking drugs themselves, and Dylan just wanted to avoid that.”

“He wants to take himself out of situations where he knows he’ll go back down south, and it’s Ray that actually helps him and takes him under his wing. I feel like there’s a little bit of a son-father figure relationship going on, and Ray’s trying to gain trust… to make Dylan deal drugs, basically!”

The next morning, as Paddy prepares breakfast, Dylan keeps his head down and ignores a message from Ray. But any hopes of staying under the radar look to be dashed when Paddy, Rhona (Zoe Henry) and Marlon put two and two together and realise that Dylan was the intruder that Kyle stabbed.

While Dylan continues to fob April off with excuses to cover his tracks, he slips away to carry out a secret drop-off for Ray.

Back at The Woolpack, Paddy and Marlon try to convince Rhona to keep quiet about Dylan’s involvement in the incident at Butlers, and not involve Moira (Natalie J Robb).

Dylan’s later relieved when Ray doesn’t press the issue after he turns down another job, but his relief quickly turns to shame when he realises Paddy and Marlon have discovered how he received his leg wound.

As Dylan and April later make their way through the village, Ray watches from a distance. Despite Dylan’s efforts to cut ties, Ray clearly isn’t finished with him.

“Ray’s manipulating him,” Fred continues. “It’s a weird contrast. Dylan knows he’s doing the wrong thing, but it’s better than what he was doing when he was on the streets.”

Later in the week, Dylan continues to ignore Ray’s calls, but how long will it be before Ray won’t take no for an answer?

2) Robert has a proposal for Victoria

Elsewhere in the village, Robert’s failed attempts to expose half-brother John’s (Oliver Farnworth) true nature has left him feeling on the outer.

This week, their long-running feud took a violent turn when John, having issued a physical threat for Robert to back off, found himself on the receiving end.

In a moment of rage, Robert lashed out, striking John over the head and leaving him hospitalised.

The incident shook Robert to the core, and he immediately fled the scene. After Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) managed to talk him down from fleeing the village, Robert seemed to accept that his obsession with bringing John down was fuelled by his own insecurities

In the aftermath, John agreed not to involve the police, accepting Robert’s apology. However, back at home, John quietly exported dashcam footage of the attack from his van, making it clear he has no intention of letting Robert forget who holds the upper hand.

This week, John does his best to bridge the gap between Aaron (Danny Miller) and Robert, encouraging Aaron to soften his stance towards his ex-husband. However, an awkward encounter in the shop does little to ease tensions, leading John to make a swift exit.

Robert, determined to mend their fractured relationship, reaches out to Aaron over coffee. The conversation takes a hopeful turn when Aaron, despite his reservations, assures Robert that he is valued, leaving Robert quietly optimistic.

Robert soon finds himself in Moira’s firing line, as she confronts him over Annie’s field–the land she sold him in good faith.

Robert had spun a tale about wanting to revive the Sugden legacy and build a smallholding, but Moira has since learned he’d planned to sell the land on to Kim Tate (Claire King).

Although Robert ultimately pulled out of the deal, Moira is far from impressed with his underhanded tactics.

Their argument is interrupted by Vic’s arrival, but her suspicions are piqued when Robert then floats the idea of farming Annie’s field together.

Is Robert genuine in his wish to return to his roots?

3) Lewis brings Steph and Ross back together

Over in the cafe, whilst new co-owner of the cafe Lewis (Bradley Riches) is wowing the village with his coffee and baking skills, he’s also revelling in the opportunity to dig up the tea.

After discovering that his half-brother Ross (Michael Parr) once had a thing going with Steph (Georgia Jay), Lewis has been determined to reunite the two, particularly after hearing Steph’s regrets about how things had ended between them.

Next week, Lewis and Steph’s mum Ruby (Beth Cordingly) are both making an effort to mend Ross and Steph’s broken relationship.

When Steph’s car breaks down as she goes to leave for her therapy session, Lewis is quick to take the opportunity to volunteer Ross into giving her a lift.

The plan pays off, and when Steph and Ross return to Mill Cottage later on, Ruby is delighted to see the pair reconnecting. Ruby quickly makes herself scarce, and it’s not long before Steph suggests to Ross that they take things further, leading him upstairs.

The next morning, Ross and Steph cement their reconciliation over breakfast, officially resuming their relationship.

Keen to put any doubts to rest, Ross reassures Steph that he hasn’t been with anyone else since they broke up, though we know that’s not entirely true…

4) Will Manpreet reveal all?

Back at the cafe, Lewis could be about to continue his matchmaking as he ends up joining Ruby and Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) in a gossip session.

Manpreet’s love life, or lack thereof, is the topic of conversation, but as Ruby and Lewis dig for details, Manpreet’s left wondering whether to reveal that she had a one-night-stand with Ross a few months ago.

The unexpected liaison occurred when Ross was on the rebound after Steph ended their relationship, and whilst Manpreet wanted to talk things through the next morning, Ross was quick to dismiss any chance of things going further.

With Ross now back with Steph, will Manpreet inadvertently put a spanner in the works by revealing the hook-up in front of Steph’s mum?

Later in the week, Manpreet finds a kindred spirit in Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) as they both share their frustrations about a lack of romance. 

Will Lewis attempt to work his magic once again, or have recent events seen him rethink his attempts at matchmaking?

5) Charity confides in Vanessa about a potential tragedy

Elsewhere in the village, Sarah (Katie Hill) is on edge as she waits to hear whether the surrogacy procedure has been successful.

Sarah’s grandmother Charity (Emma Atkins) put herself forward as a carrier for Sarah and Jacob’s (Joe-Warren Plant) baby, after Sarah was forced to undergo an emergency hysterectomy during surgery for cervical cancer.

Although Sarah and Jacob weren’t together at the time, he had previously agreed to donate sperm so that Sarah could undergo IVF in order to have a child. 

With the pair now back together and engaged, both Sarah and Jacob have been fussing over Charity since she was implanted with the fertilised egg, to the point where she’s had to remind them that it’s not her first rodeo.

Charity’s selfless offer nearly came at the cost of her marriage, with Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) left reeling when he found out about her offer. The decision hit a nerve, especially after Charity had told Mack she didn’t want to try for more children in the wake of their ectopic pregnancy heartbreak.

Next week, as they head out for some fresh air, a woodland walk takes a troubling turn when Charity suffers a fall. Determined to downplay the incident, Charity returns home with Mack and brushes off any concerns.

As Sarah remains unaware of the fall, Charity throws herself into party planning, suggesting an engagement celebration for Sarah and Jacob as a means of deflecting their attention away from her.

As the celebration gets underway at The Woolpack, Charity’s scare is far from over.

She hastily excuses herself to the toilets, and later confides in Vanessa that she has been experiencing bleeding.

Charity is left grappling with whether to open up to Sarah about the potentially heartbreaking news that the embryo may not have taken, or keep the truth hidden until after the celebrations have passed.

Later in the week, despite Mack’s best efforts to lift her spirits, Charity is overwhelmed with guilt, blaming herself for the situation.

After a rough time for the pair, Mack vows to Charity and she and Sarah both have his full support with the surrogacy going forward.

But has his promise come too late?

6) Vinny searches for answers

Meanwhile, Gabby is pushing ahead with wedding planning for her upcoming nuptials to Vinny (Bradley Johnson), still blissfully unaware of the doubts her fiancé is holding.

Vinny surprised himself when he attempted to kiss friend Kammy (Shebz Miah) several weeks ago, having never previously questioned his sexuality.

Whilst Kammy took the moment in his stride and promised to support his mate, Vinny has so far been reluctant to acknowledge talk about it further.

Next week, Vinny’s doing his best to convince everyone–and himself–that he’s excited for the wedding. As he chats to Mandy about Gabby’s ongoing ‘wedmin’, it’s clear he’s pushing aside his own doubts.

Things get awkward later when Kammy turns up at the scrapyard with a thoughtful gift, presenting Vinny with a watch for the big day. Vinny’s grateful, but the gesture leaves him flustered as he struggles to keep up appearances.

As Kammy goes on to sift through some scrap, Vinny can’t help but watch on with a lustful gaze.

When Aaron picks up on Vinny’s odd behaviour, he opens up about his own recent experience, confessing that he kissed Robert on his own wedding day to John.

Aaron reassures Vinny that pre-wedding doubts are common, but when Vinny admits he also recently tried to kiss someone else, Aaron urges him to keep it from Gabby. Even with Aaron’s support, Vinny’s left feeling more conflicted than ever.

With his head still all over the place, Vinny takes to the internet, desperately searching for answers about his sexuality.

But when Vinny later makes arrangements to meet someone he’s been chatting to online, is he getting in over his head?

7) Belle’s got mail

Also next week, Belle is thrown when Lydia approaches her in the cafe and hands over an important letter.

With the envelope indicating that the correspondence is from the Hotten Family Court, could Belle’s divorce from incarcerated ex-husband Tom (James Chase) have now been finalised?