Ray Walters is no ordinary villain.

He’s the kind of man who makes the entire village of Emmerdale hold its breath whenever he appears.

Behind his polite facade, Ray runs a drug trafficking ring, extorts money, and even orchestrates kidnappings to control others.

But the most terrifying thing about Ray isn’t his knives and guns – it’s his psychological manipulation of people.

Ray discovers April has inadvertently caused “a fatal incident,” and instead of reporting it to the police, he “protects” her by concealing the truth—thus turning her into a pawn. He forces her to deliver goods, receive cash, work in the shadows, and constantly warns her: “If you open your mouth, your whole family will die.”

The most shocking moment is when Celia Daniels – Ray’s business partner and former lover – orders him to “deal with her.” But Ray, for a rare moment, hesitates out of pity.

He dragged April into the woods, saying, “I’ll take the blame myself, you have to disappear.” That scene was both poignant and horrifying—because, clearly, despite his glimmer of conscience, Ray was still a devil in human form.

Ray Walters became Emmerdale’s most complex character: guilty, pitiable, and terrifying all at once. A villain whom viewers couldn’t completely hate, but also couldn’t forgive.