Seasons & episodes

After having his advances from Laurel rejected, Ethan gets drunk on the communion wine. Kelly calls into the church and after finding out what's wrong, the pair end up kissing. After being caught by Laurel, Ethan brands Kelly a whore, claiming he only slept with her because he couldn’t have Laurel. Meanwhile, after talking to Danny, Jo decides to confess the truth to Paddy but she returns to work to find that he's thrown caution to the wind and booked a flight to Portugal to meet ‘Fireblade’. However, Paddy lies to Marlon that the holiday is to visit his cousin Jason. Also, Len and Pearl decide to play Val and Nicola off against each other when Val approaches the couple to leave Nicola and work for her instead.

Kelly bitchily let slip to Edna that Ethan and Laurel have been carrying on behind Ashley’s back. Edna then informs the Bishop but Ethan saves his own neck by saying that Laurel threw herself at him. Laurel is horrified as Ethan tells her she has brought it all on herself as they would have been good together. Elsewhere, when Sadie and Matthew arrive at The Woolpack, Aunt Phyllis comments to Jimmy that she always knew the pair would end up together. Later Jimmy asks Sadie and Matthew what’s going on but Sadie tells him not to be paranoid. Meanwhile, Jo feels too cowardly to tell Paddy that ‘Fireblade’ is a hoax but wants to save him huge disappointment in Lisbon. She decides to send him a message telling him not to bother coming.

After Jimmy catches Ethan being aggressive with Kelly he whisks her off to a nearby hotel. Kelly becomes fed up of Jimmy being all emotional about being pushed out by his family and suggests they have some fun in the bubble bath. Meanwhile, Emily finds it hard to believe that Laurel would get involved with Ethan but Nicola points out that Laurel has been acting very cagey. Also, returning from Granny Clegg’s, Belle is sent home from school for fighting. Lisa and Zak give her a telling off but Belle gives them the run around. Belle talks to Sam about reprimanding children and Alice is chuffed to hear Sam's take on this.

Sadie bumps into Kelly, who is dressed up to the nines for another rendezvous with Jimmy. After Kelly makes a remark about Jimmy, Sadie confides in Matthew that something must be going on between the pair. After calling Jimmy's phone to hear Kelly answer, Sadie rants to Matthew, who suspects she is jealous. Sadie assures him her reaction is just because Jimmy should still be grieving for Max, not sleeping with the village bike.

Ashley informs Laurel that Ethan is insisting that she came onto him. He goes on to say that he understands it must be difficult with the Bishop putting things on hold. Laurel is incredulous and cannot believe Ashley doubts her and he is stunned when she promptly ends their relationship. As Laurel leaves with her bags, Ethan watches from the B&B and feels a mixture of satisfaction and regret.

A distraught Ethan delivers his sermon to the village but shocks the congregation by confessing that he is in love with Laurel. The curate admits that he has been misinforming the Bishop about Ashley and Laurel's relationship in order to keep them apart, and he leaves the village in shame. Ashley apologises for ever doubting Laurel but she is still hurt that he distrusted her. The Bishop tells them that in the light of Ethan's confession, he gives his permission for them to marry. Ashley gets down on one knee and proposes. Over at Home Farm, the Dingles go fishing and Shadrach is positive that he has seen something big and shiny lurking in the depths of the lake. Zak wishfully thinks that they might have struck gold.

Sam is consumed with fear that Alice may have cancer. Sam and Alice are distracted and in a somber mood as the family looks for treasure underwater. Unable to cope with the weight of keeping Alice's secret from his father, the young couple decide to tell the family their terrifying news. The Dingles are shocked to the core but vow to support Alice as she faces the results of her test the following day.

The Dingle clan wait with baited breathe at the oncology clinic as Alice collects her cancer test results. Zak tries to console Sam as he fears the worst, but Alice finally emerges and gladly announces that she has been given the all clear. Meanwhile, Adam and Isla Forsythe finalise their divorce and after signing the papers Adam warmly assists his ex-wife to her car.

Adam and Steph go for a meal in The Woolpack and when Betty joins them, Adam politely states that he and Steph are enjoying a date. Steph is taken aback and when they later retire to the B&B she is shocked when Adam kisses her neck. Steph warns him off with a knife, leaving Adam terrified and Steph devastated by her own rage. Over at the Dingles', Debbie is upset that her family have forgotten her sixteenth birthday. When Lisa finally remembers, she organises a party, but Debbie is unimpressed by her efforts and complains that Sarah always takes the limelight from her. Meanwhile, Tom is eager to get his family back together and asks his sons to live with him at Home Farm. Jimmy upsets his father by telling him that he can’t think of anything worse than living under the same roof as Sadie.

Adam tries to talk to Steph about the previous night but her embarrassment causes her to be dismissive and he is left frustrated by her barriers. After several attempts to get to the bottom of Steph's behaviour, he respects her wishes when she asks him to leave her alone. Adam's reluctance to fight is proof in Steph's mind that he can’t really be interested in her. Over at the Post Office, Daz dares Kayleigh and Victoria to steal something. Viv catches them red-handed and phones Martin and Louise.

Adam tells an astonished Steph that he’ll be checking out today as he feels their friendship and chance of romance has been jeopardised. Covering her true feelings, Steph agrees it's the right decision for him to leave. Later on, Steph realises that she can’t let the first man that she has ever cared for disappear and she bites the bullet, telling him that she has feelings for him. Elsewhere, Betty is thrilled when Kathy leaves her a message saying that she and Seth are returning to Emmerdale to celebrate his birthday. Betty spreads the good news and the villagers anticipate Seth's arrival. Meanwhile, Del tries to convince Carl that she has true feelings for him, but he states that, in light of what has happened, she has definitely blown her chances.

Betty and Laurel are waiting at the airport for Seth and Kathy’s flight to land, but as passengers disembark the flight, there is no sign of him. Betty is concerned when there is a tannoy announcement asking her to the information desk. She is ushered into an office where she sees Kathy. Her tearstained face says it all as Kathy confirms that Seth died from a heart attack during the flight, just an hour from home. They head back to the village and Betty bravely announces the news in the pub. She orders a drink and raises a toast to Seth. Adam invites Steph for a drink at The Woolpack but she reminds him that she wants to take things slowly. It is clear they are both happy to have things back to normal. Meanwhile, Delilah is attempting to secure the curtain contract. It is doubly tricky because Carl knows she fancies him and enjoys watching her squirm. He eventually gives in and lets her have the Home Farm contract.

Betty appears breezy and busies herself with funeral arrangements. The locals offer their support but Betty refuses to be down about Seth. Kathy, Laurel, Edna and Alan are all worried about their friend. Kathy makes many attempts to talk to Betty but is always interrupted. Eventually she sits her down and tells a stunned Betty that Seth had been ill for a while and was heading back to Betty to die. Kathy goes on to say that he had left her very specific instructions as to what he wanted at his funeral. She reads out a list that includes an echo friendly coffin, no hats, food poached by Alan and fine malt to be supplied by Eric.

The villagers are busy preparing for Seth’s funeral but Betty remains adamant that she will not be going. A crate of booze arrives care of Kim Tate. Meanwhile, Betty seeks sanctuary in Seth's hide, where she chides him for leaving her. As if answering her, Biff arrives and asks Betty why she isn’t ready for the crematorium. Biff explains Seth would only ever have Betty's best interests at heart and surely stayed away so long because he wanted to spare Betty having to see him suffer.

Debbie snogs Daz in front of Kayleigh to stop her bothering him. Kayleigh is devastated. Louise is comforting and arranges a girly night, to cheer up Kayleigh, assuring her that the right boy will come along. Kayleigh asks Louise some awkward questions about sex, which Louise dodges. Martin arrives and is taken aback by his daughter covered in make up. Louise fears she's offended Martin again.

Louise takes Victoria to her karate class and gets roped into joining in. She is paired up with Martin and although they pretend to be angry with one another, it's clear that they enjoy the physical contact. Victoria and Kayleigh blurt out that Louise and Martin fancy each other. They are both embarrassed but Martin bites the bullet and confirms to Louise that he likes her and asks her out for lunch the following day. Nicola arranges for Laurel to see a top dressmaker but is disappointed when Laurel fails to show any enthusiasm. When the dressmaker leaves, Nicola rebukes Laurel for embarrassing her, but Laurel tells her that planning the wedding doesn’t seem right at the moment as she is grieving for Seth. Lisa is furious when Debbie’s headmistress phones and informs her that Debbie has been wagging school.

Laurel decides that her love for Ashley is all that matters and that she doesn’t need Nicola’s frills at the wedding. Both Laurel and Ashley agree that they want a simple wedding and despite Nicola's regret, Laurel insists it's her and Ashley's day, not Nicola's. As Ashley heads off to work, Laurel flippantly wishes they could get married tomorrow. It's the day of Seth’s burial and Betty is being evasive, insisting she’d rather say goodbye to Seth on her own, whilst the committal takes place. Ashley can’t fathom why Betty would miss it, but Betty has her own reasons. The villagers speculate about Betty's whereabouts as Seth's eco-coffin is buried. And then, in the absence of a planned wake, they troupe off to The Woolpack to raise a glass to the master poacher himself. Betty, Laurel and the Dingles eventually join the group. Ashley spots they all have muddy shoes, but agrees it's best he doesn’t ask any questions. With everybody in attendance, the villagers raise a final toast to Seth.

After Ashley announces their banns in church, Laurel shocks him by declaring that she wants to marry him that day. After a bit of persuasion Ashley agrees and says that he wants the bishop to do the service so Laurel goes off to find him. The bishop is dubious about the sudden wedding but on hearing Laurel say that Seth’s death has taught her to live for the moment, he agrees. Nicola allows Laurel to drive the bishop to Emmerdale in the two-seater, leaving her desperately trying to get a taxi.

Kelly makes her way to Jimmy's for their date and bumps into Sadie, who takes delight in telling her that Jimmy is only using her to get over his grief and will drop her when he's bored. Kelly later admits to Jimmy that she's worried he is ashamed of her and asks him if they can go public. Meanwhile, Ashley is still furious about Sandy turning up out of the blue and calls him a cab, not wanting to hear his tales. Laurel insists that he tell her about his history and after divulging some information she feels there's more to this than Ashley is prepared to admit. Also, Viv tells Lesley that she's put the prices up in the shop to raise money for her wedding. She is determined that her wedding will be better than Laurel's. Lesley is outraged, but knowing that she can't afford to lose her job, she is forced to keep quiet.

Rodney is feeling downhearted after a knock back from Toni. He comes across an equally unhappy Lesley, who has been sacked for admitting to customers that the hiked up prices are to pay for Viv’s wedding. He joins her for a few drinks and as they are both feeling down, the drunken pair get carried away. Elsewhere, Sadie tells Matthew that she's been doing some research on the net and found that one of the agencies Kelly said she worked for went bust years ago. Taking no notice of Matthew's advice she hires a private detective, Colin Matthews and asks him to get her some dirt on Kelly. Also, Paddy and Toni continue to dupe Danny and Jo into thinking that they are a couple. Toni lies to Danny that she's been a bit deceitful as the loaded vet was due to meet a woman from a chat room. Both Danny and Jo fall for it hook, line and sinker and Jo worries that her joke has gone too far.

After a night of passion, Lesley proudly reports to Simon that she and Rodney are together. Simon confronts Rodney, who admits that last night was a drunken mistake and Simon orders him to put Lesley straight. He tells Lesley it shouldn’t have happened but is shocked when she agrees. Meanwhile, Kelly is horrified when, after some help from Sadie, a Mrs Connors walks in to The Woolpack and announces Kelly didn’t have a modelling contract but had posed topless. She also makes it clear that everything Kelly has financially was leeched from her own husband. Also, Toni is continuing with the game that she's using Paddy and flaunts a pricey looking engagement ring in front of Jo. Jo flips and accuses Paddy of being too silly to realise Toni's a gold-digger and blurts out that Toni isn’t Fireblade. Paddy laughs that the joke is on her because he found out days ago.

Rodney is horrified to learn that Lesley still hasn’t got the message that he's not interested when he discovers that she has declared herself his significant other for an upcoming council do. That evening Rodney goes to the pub and is about to come clean with Lesley when an opportunistic Kelly grabs his arm and says she's going to the council do with him, prompting Lesley to flee in a flood of tears. Rodney is pleased to have solved his dilemma as he spends the evening with Kelly. Simon later gives Rodney a piece of his mind and clouts him for treating his mother so badly. Rodney feels awful. Meanwhile, at the council do a drunk Councillor Ledbetter is complaining that his wife is away and quick thinking Val responds by saying that she's heard that the stiff looking new Mayor Angela, would love Ledbetter to loosen her up. Eric and Val watch in amusement as Ledbetter makes an outrageous pass at an extremely unimpressed Angela, who, unbeknownst to him, is a lesbian!

Eric is desperate to step into Ledbetter's shoes and sets about schmoozing the Mayor. Angela says she would welcome the idea of Eric sitting on the committee if it weren't for the fact that his partner is currently facing a criminal conviction. Eric's devastated when Angela gives him an ultimatum - Val or the committee. The village realise that Rodney and Kelly are an item. Paul is disgusted when Kelly comes downstairs having spent the night with Rodney.

Having been told that Val’s court case may affect his chances of getting on the planning committee, Eric sheepishly goes to see Val and tells her that their relationship is over. When Val reacts badly, he tries to appease her by suggesting that they just pretend to have fallen out instead. Elsewhere, Steph has a glint in her eye as she tells Adam that people seem to be getting the wrong impression about their relationship. They discuss arranging a day at the races and Adam asks if it would be as friends or as something else. Meanwhile, it becomes clear that there is a growing attraction between Dawn and Danny.