While Emmerdale seems to have entered a period of peace, the shadow of Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) continues to haunt the young April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle).

The latest episodes have revealed a series of dramatic details that make the audience breathless: Ray is increasingly manipulating, turning the two children into pawns in his evil plan.

April, who is naive and tries to stay optimistic, is still constantly worried about the huge debt.

She chooses to confide in Ross Barton (Michael Parr), but hides the darkest truth: Ray is pushing her deeper and deeper into the underworld.

Dylan is completely lost when Ray constantly promises a “life-changing job” at the depot. With just a sudden text message, a quick “driving lesson”, Ray has proven that he can lure Dylan at any time. Even more worrying, Ray also handed April a “burner phone” – the first sign that he wanted to turn her into a link in the drug trafficking chain. The promise of quickly clearing the debt turned out to be just a trap to keep April forever in a dangerous spiral.

Dylan is no better off, as he is caught between two opposing forces. On one side is Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) – the foster father who always gives him sincere love and protection. On the other side is Ray – who constantly entices him with luxurious gifts, at the same time instilling hidden fear. Dylan is torn between two choices: follow his heart and turn to Paddy’s warmth, or succumb to the dark power that Ray represents.