8 Emmerdale Spoilers for Next Week – 19th to 23rd May

Next week on Emmerdale, John’s secrets are all set to unravel, Moira could lose everything, Lewis reveals his side-hustle, and Sarah faces her devastating news alone.

1) Butlers comes under threat

John’s (Oliver Farnworth) feud with long-term foe Mackenzie (Lawrence Boyd) reached new heights this week, after a paintball battle ended in a humiliating defeat for John.

Mack took great pleasure in the fact that his tactic of switching into a ghillie suit during the event, held for John and Aaron’s (Danny Miller) stag do, had enabled him to get the upper hand against the former solider.

Later, after a few drinks too many, Mack reaffirmed to John that he did not trust him.

“You might have fooled everyone in there,” Mack slurred as he left the pub. “But not me. Because I see through you. And it’s only a matter of time before Aaron does too.”

Mack isn’t wrong of course, with John recently being revealed to viewers as responsible the death of Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), whose body is currently sitting at the bottom of a lake just outside the village waiting to be discovered.

As John seethed, he opted to get his revenge by releasing the latch on a slurry tank at Butlers, knowing that Mack had been using it earlier that day, in the hope of putting him in Moira’s (Natalie J Robb) bad books.

What he didn’t foresee, however, was the far-reaching impact of his actions. The slurry made its way into the village’s water supply, and John was left reeling when young Harry (Adam Pryor), his five-year-old nephew, was rushed to hospital after falling ill from drinking the tap water.

Mack struggled to understand what had happened, knowing that the tank was secure when he left it, as Moira railed at him for being occupied with thinking about paintballing rather than doing his job properly.

John’s ownguilt grew as the gravity of the situation became apparent, with everyone aware that this could spell the end for the farm.

“They [the insurance company] basically say they’re not gonna pay out,” Natalie J Robb tells us. “Moira gets a massive fine, but whilst it was a problem on the farm, it wasn’t just on her land. Therefore the insurance doesn’t cover it.”

“She’s at her wit’s end,” Natalie continues. “In fact it gets to a point where Moira just thinks ‘I just don’t think I can take this any more.’ After everything she’s just come through, and come out of, this was the last thing she really needed.”

“But it’s also a thing that Mackenzie’s done as well, it’s these kind of clumsy, silly mistakes that just can’t happen on a farm, it can finish them.”

Moira is left waiting for the clean-up bill, with the farm’s future looking increasingly uncertain.

After 16 years of managing the land through numerous challenges, the insurers’ refusal to pay out—blaming Mack’s apparent mistake—leaves Moira questioning whether this marks the end of her tenure.

2) John is an unlikely comfort to guilt-stricken Mack

As Harry remains on a drip in Hotten General, with mum Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) by his side, both Mack and John are struggling with their guilt.

“Mack thinks he’s screwed the whole family business and his sister’s going to lose the farm,” Lawrence Robb told EverySoap and other press recently. “He also thinks that he could arguably have nearly killed a couple of people.”

When Victoria orders Mack to leave, it all becomes too much for him. Outside, as Mack blames himself for Harry’s condition, it’s John who becomes an unlikely support as he assures him that Harry will be okay.

“There’s a moment where they’re kind of connecting, but on opposite scales,” Lawrence reveals. “Mack is like, ‘I’ve killed him’… and John’s like, ‘I’ve killed him’… but neither of them are saying that.”

“There’s a moment of understanding, and I guess Mackenzie allows the wool to get pulled over his eyes a little bit. John is thrilled that it’s the downfall of Mackenzie, and he kind of manipulates it in such a way that he helps Mackenzie, because that’s what John does.”

Later in the week, with tensions still running high, Mack decides to step back from his role as Aaron’s best man, leaving Aaron gutted.

Determined to set things right for his fiancé, John sets about trying to mend the situation—but with so much damage done, can he pull it off?

3) Aidan defies all the odds

Meanwhile, John is dealt a further shock at the hospital when he bumps into Cathleen (Julia Watson), the mum of his former fiancé and ex-army buddy Aidan, who is lying in a coma on one of the wards.

Cathleen has received news on Aidan’s condition, and presumes that John is there after being notified too.

Aidan sustained severe injuries whilst out on patrol with John in Afghanistan. John claims he fought desperately to save him, but the lack of oxygen to his brain left Aidan unresponsive.

While both John and the medical team have long accepted that Aidan will never regain consciousness, it’s only Cathleen’s unwavering hope that has kept his life support running all these years.

John’s nervous as Cathleen pressures him to accompany her to Aidan’s bedside. It’s an uncomfortable situation John’s keen to avoid, hoping that Harry will be discharged soon to avoid any further encounters.

But in a big twist that no-one foresaw, when John’s name is later mentioned in his hospital room, Aidan’s eyes suddenly spring open…

John is horrified when he learns that Aidan has regained consciousness. Needing to assess the risk, he makes his way to Aidan’s bedside—uncertain whether their shared history, and what really happened in Afghanistan, is about to resurface.

With Harry due home the next day and it becoming clear Aidan is non-verbal, John allows himself a moment of cautious relief.

But elsewhere, Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) is edging closer to the truth—and is about to make a discovery that could unravel everything…

4) Belle vows to get to the bottom of Nate’s disappearance

Tracy’s (Amy Walsh) dire financial situation following Nate’s disappearance becomes all too clear to Belle next week, as she offers to help out when the credit card Tracy has secretly taken out in Nate’s name is declined.

Everyone is still under the impression that Nate has cut everyone off, including young daughter Frankie, following his move to Shetland.

It left Tracy in the lurch as she found herself stealing from the till whilst working at Eric’s (Chris Chittell) shop in order to make ends meet.

But Belle finally decides to take action as she grows all the more suspicious of Nate’s actions and makes an announcement—she’s going to head up to Scotland to track him down.

Later in the week, Belle returns with the alarming news that Nate never arrived at his new job in Shetland. With questions mounting, she resolves to dig deeper into his sudden disappearance.

Meanwhile, John suppresses a haunting flash of Nate’s lifeless body, choosing instead to focus on keeping calm—unaware that Belle is starting to connect the dots.

As Nate’s dad Cain (Jeff Hordley) struggles with Belle’s news, John is alarmed to discover that Belle now knows that Nate never made it to Scotland.

Scrambling to keep control, he tries to convince her that Nate left of his own accord and urges her not to go to the police and report him as a missing person.

With Tracy and Frankie in mind, and the impact it would have on them, Belle hesitates and ultimately agrees to hold off… for now.

5) John’s biggest secret is threatened

With the wedding only a day away, and Belle now focused on that, John is hopeful that things are now under control so that he can enjoy his day.

That is until the slurry incident comes back to bite him in the worst way possible, as he overhears Moira telling Cain that the water company will now have to dredge the lake!

With Nate’s body looming beneath the surface, it’s now only a matter of time before John’s darkest secret is uncovered…

6) Moira faces her past

If the threat of losing her livelihood wasn’t enough for Moira to deal with next week, she’s thrown when she learns that Ross’s (Michael Parr) newly discovered half-brother Lewis (Bradley Riches) wants to meet her.

Moira was shocked to receive a letter addressed to ‘The Family of Emma Barton’, her late sister-in-law whose life she had taken in 2017, with the revelation that Emma had a secret son the rest of the Bartons never knew about.

Ross reluctantly agreed to meet up with Lewis, but his probing questions about their mother eventually became too much and Ross suggested that they keep their distance.

But Lewis isn’t one to give up lightly, and whilst Ross initially ignores another attempt to reconnect, before long curiosity gets the better of him.

As the two spend time together, Lewis begins steering the conversation towards old family history. When he asks to meet Moira, Ross is left uncertain about how to proceed.

It’s the worst possible timing for Moira, who’s already at breaking point when Ross turns up with the news that Lewis—the long-lost son of the woman she killed—is waiting outside. Bracing herself, Moira prepares to face the past head-on.

“He catches her totally off guard,” Natalie tells us. “So she’s like ‘Oh, brilliant, right bring it all on then and let’s get it all done in one go’. Lewis asks loads of questions but he’s quite blunt with his questioning and that’s to do with his personality.”

But it doesn’t take long before the questioning begins to take it’s toll as the painful memories resurface. Will Moira be able to keep her cool?

7) Lewis has a surprising interest

Ross has a further surprise when he learns that keen horticulturalist Lewis has quite an unorthodox side hustle.

“On face value, he’s morally very great,” Bradley Riches told EverySoap and other press. “He stands for what he says, but as time goes on Ross finds out that Lewis has this real fascination with plants… and that plant, is cannabis.”

“Lewis is quite clever so he makes these CBD gummies and oils,” Bradley continues. “He never uses it for smoking or stuff like that, he uses it for good use.”

“Ross then sees that as an opportunity to monetise from Lewis. He thinks it’s a small thing, but we later find out it’s quite a big operation!”

“Ross basically sees it as an opportunity,” Michael Parr adds. “He does want to form a bond with Lewis, and he wants to go into business.”

“It’s not like Ross is trying to bully his way in. Ross had a similar situation with [late brother] Finn, where they both had a little weed grow on the side, so Ross kind of knows this industry.”

The brothers continue to bond, and Ross quietly acquires a few of the medicinal plants from Lewis. Though subtlety isn’t Lewis’s strong point, when he delivers two big boxes to Ross in the middle of the cafe in front of nosey Nicola (Nicola Wheeler)!

When Mack spots Ross hanging around the farm, his curiosity is quickly answered after glimpsing the crop. Ross confides in him, and Mack is soon sworn to secrecy—seeing potential in the operation as a way to cover the farm’s mounting debts.

But it soon becomes apparent to the pair that their current stash won’t cut it. With limited supply, they begin plotting a new plan to keep things moving…

8) Sarah faces another health battle

Elsewhere in the village, Sarah (Katie Hill) is dealt a potentially devastating blow as she attends her first appointment at the fertility clinic.

Sarah has realised in recent weeks that she wants nothing more than to become a mum, after a positive pregnancy test back in February turned out to be a false reading.

The initial test had come as a shock for Sarah, knowing that her chances of having children were greatly reduced due to her life-limiting Fanconi anaemia.

Although she hadn’t planned on trying to conceive with then boyfriend Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant), Sarah was devastated when she came to learn that the test had been inaccurate.

Although she’s since split from Jacob, and new romance Kammy (Shebz Miah), Sarah confided in Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) that she was determined to try and have a baby via IVF, despite the moral minefield of knowing she may not live long enough to see it grow to adulthood.

Continuing to keep her plans a secret from her family as she prepares for her first trip to the clinic, Sarah manages to persuade grandad Cain to give her an advance on her wages, money she needs for the appointment.

At the clinic, Sarah remains determined to move forward with her plans, despite concerns raised by Dr Knapp (Yasmin Evans). Later, at home with Vanessa, it’s clear Sarah intends to pursue motherhood on her own terms—and to keep it hidden from the rest of the family for the foreseeable.

But Sarah’s excitement turns to unease when she later heads back to the clinic for further checks.

Following an examination, Dr Knapp gently breaks the news to Sarah that she’s found signs of inflammation on her cervix and will need to return for a biopsy. Back home, fearing the worst, Sarah struggles to share what happened with Vanessa, choosing instead to keep her fears to herself.

Later in the week, Sarah finally resolves to tells Cain and Charity (Emma Atkins) what she’s going through. But finding they’re both too busy to chat, she decides to reach out to mum Debbie, only to find she has a startling revelation of her own…

With the family’s focus now shifted elsewhere, a saddened Sarah ends up slipping out to her hospital appointment alone as she faces a potential cancer diagnosis.

As an isolated Sarah waits for news, what will the biopsy results show?

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