Seasons & episodes

Jack heads to the scene of the accident. Robert tells Jack what happened and Jack is furious at his two sons, especially Robert. Jack tells Robert to leave the village in order to avoid being arrested for manslaughter by suggesting that Andy swerved to avoid a flock of sheep. Meanwhile, the police break the news of Max's death to Tom and Jimmy. Tom is devastated and laments with Jimmy at the hospital that he cursed Max.

There are concerns over Alice’s health and Adam tells her that he is worried about her high level of white blood cells. Alice is terrified that she's got cancer and fears for the safety of her unborn child. Adam advises Alice to talk through the situation with Sam but she insists that she doesn’t want him to know. Meanwhile, in the wake of the village’s bad news, Ashley suggests cancelling his working trip to Israel. Ethan and Laurel persuade him to go.

Val is becoming increasingly desperate for cash to repay her debts and when she sees the cash box in the Antiques Barn, she can’t resist grabbing a handful of notes and stuffing them in her handbag. Val panics when she notices the CCTV camera, and heads to the office to attempt to record over the tape. Later that day, Danny accusingly tells Paul that the takings aren’t tallying up and Paul goes off to inspect the CCTV footage. He is stunned when he notices there's a jump cut and suddenly sees Val. Meanwhile, Dawn tries desperately to keep the garage afloat by asking Cain to clean cars. Jack later suggests that they close it down for a while, but Dawn won’t hear of it, determined they can sort something out. Elsewhere, Matthew and Carl arrive home and are devastated to hear about Max's death.

Paul confronts Val about the missing cash and he tells her that if she doesn’t tell Rodney, he will. Val tries to explain to Paul that Jimmy Pepper was demanding money and that's why she stole the cash, but he tells her straight that if she wants his help she has to tell Rodney the truth. That evening, in The Woolpack, Val approaches Rodney ready to confess, but Rodney now believes it was Paul who took the money. Val tells an angry Rodney that he shouldn’t be making wild accusations about who stole the money, but fails to own up to her crime. Meanwhile, Simon tells Nicola he has a job interview that afternoon but is evasive as to what the job is. Simon later announces to Nicola and Lesley that he has got a job working for King & Sons, but they burst out laughing when he says that he’ll be their bin man.

Paul is annoyed that Val still hasn’t come clean, but unaware that he is now in the frame, he lends his mother the money that she needs. Val tries to sneak it back into the till at the Antiques Barn, but when Rodney catches her, she lies that Paul needed the cash because he was tricked into lending money to a friend who has fled the country. Later on, Rodney confronts Paul about the theft and seeing how furious her son is, Val is forced to confess all. Diane is outraged by Val's behaviour and decides to call the police. Elsewhere, Nicola has trouble coming to terms with Simon’s job as a bin man and the couple have a blazing row when she condemns him for shaming her. Simon brands her a snob and storms off in disgust.

Val is released on police bail and tells Eric she’ll be pleading guilty in court the following week in the hope of a minimised sentence. As Paul is able to forgive his mother, Diane begins to wonder if she did the right thing reporting Val to the police. Meanwhile, Nicola is still annoyed that Simon misled her about his job and begs Rodney to give him a loan to fund his business venture instead. Rodney agrees but Simon refuses the gesture, realising that Nicola is behind it and not wanting to accept charity. Elsewhere, Viv has transformed her front room into wedding central but is annoyed when Donna doesn’t turn up for the lunchtime wedding summit.

Donna tearfully admits to Bob that she is having doubts about the wedding. Bob is aghast but covers for her when Marlon enters. Meanwhile, Ivan suggests to Simon that he move in as a lodger to help with his financial problems. Simon agrees but Nicola is later annoyed that he has taken the decision without consulting her first. Elsewhere, Adam insists that Alice must tell Sam the truth about her health problems as she will need his support during her tests.

Donna decides that she can’t go through with the wedding and goes to tell Marlon. When she sees her fiancé, she bursts into tears and realises that she was about to make a terrible mistake. Marlon assumes they are tears of joy and afterwards Donna assures Bob she's seen the error of her ways and does want to marry Marlon. Meanwhile, Val leaves for court and Paul asks Diane if she's prepared to shoulder the guilt if Val is sent down. Diane waits with anticipation for news of the verdict. Elsewhere, Sam finds Alice crying and she finally opens up to him and tells him about the cancer. He is sad that she couldn’t tell him initially, but quickly realises that the real issue is that he could lose Alice and the baby.

As Alice has her scan she can barely bring herself to look at the screen but Sam takes comfort in the nurse's assurance that everything seems fine. Afterwards, Alice nervously waits with Sam and Emily for her haematology tests. On the way home Sam is horrified when he runs over his prize cockerel and becomes convinced it is a bad omen for Alice's health. Ethan is nervous as he is about to conduct his first funeral and he feels the pressure to give Max a good send off. After the funeral, Andy arrives to pay his respects to Max, but Tom furiously tells him to leave. Jimmy tells Tom some home truths - that Max was leaving to get away from him, that Max killed the Briggs' cows for him and that Tom must be to blame for Max's death.

Jimmy tries to apologise to Tom about things he said yesterday. Tom's still angry. Jimmy thinks Max's death was an accident, but Tom insists that Andy must have something to do with it. Sadie confirms his suspicions about the Sugden brother row, having overheard village gossip. Meanwhile, troubled Andy confides in Jack about his run-in with Tom. Later Andy is shocked to find Tom at the front door to evict his son's killer. Tom begins throwing furniture out as Andy calls Jack for help. Jack tells the others to leave so that he can have a head to head with Tom. Tom vows revenge, threatening to take Jack's son from him but Jack is quick to tell Tom that he knows about Max killing the Briggs' calves and accuses Tom of selling Max's principles for money.

Laurel worries that Ethan should get out more and promises to plan something special for the weekend. When Betty points out to Laurel that all Ethan needs to cheer him up is a good woman, Laurel invites Kelly to join them on Sunday. Meanwhile, Diane flips during a busy shift in the pub due to her frustrations over Victoria, Val’s theft and staff troubles at the pub. Louise returns home and is stunned to find Diane with her head in her hands. Elsewhere, Paddy is mortified when Jo catches him on a chat room website. Jo realises he's embarrassed and tells him that lots of people use the internet to meet people. Curious, she uses the computer in the café to see who Paddy is talking to. She finds Paddy's alias and decides to put a smile on his face by sending him some messages.

Whilst playing Trivial Pursuit, Laurel tells Ethan that he and teammate Kelly make the perfect match. Ethan finally loses patience with the match-making and in his desperation to reveal his true feelings to Laurel he seizes the moment and kisses her. Elsewhere, Paddy is feeling glum after not having had a response from ‘Fireblade’, who he met the previous day in an internet chat room. Jo overhears and feeling sympathetic sends a reply. After a few messages Paddy feels reckless and invites her on a date. In a panic, Jo tells him she lives in Lisbon. Also, Matthew tells Jimmy that's he just sold the haulage yard for profit. Jimmy reckons they should have sold it ages ago when they had the chance and it's a shame it took Max’s death for Tom to see sense. Matthew can’t believe his insensitivity and suggests he stay well away from Tom.

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.