Seasons & episodes

Dolly decides that it's time Archie found a new home, while Joe and Ruth move a step closer to living together.

Seth's new look gives the rest of Beckindale something to chew over, while a dinner guest at Emmerdale Farm gives both Jack and Dolly food for thought.

Amos considers buying his eggs from somebody other than Dolly, noting that his current eggs are of better quality. At Emmerdale Farm, Dolly wonders why her hens aren't laying many eggs.

Phil risks his life and saves Annie from Crossgill , but Jack is suspcious about how the fire started. Dolly is devastated. She has flashbacks to all their hopes and dreams for the place. Alan still has no voice, and Caroline has to read the speech in front of the amused guests. Seth disposes of his false teeth, in a scarecrow.

Matt tries to pick up the pieces and start again after the aftermath of the fire, but Dolly has lost interest in their future. Jack still wants to know how the fire at Crossgill Farm started. Phil knows he left some rags near the stove, but does not tell Jack this, so fobs him off. Matt suggests faulty wiring may have started the fire. Alan still has no voice, so Seth decides to play on this as he also thinks Alan is deaf. Seth goes to the pub, but Alan follows, and when Alan tries some egg in vinegar, he gets his voice back. He is annoyed at Seth for thinking he was deaf as well as temporarily mute and had conned his way to skiving off down the pub. Phil claims the fire at Crossgill was just an accident but Dolly says Annie almost died.

Sandie strikes up a friendship with Stephen, and it looks like Phil's problems have only just begun. The 2 tourists, Simon Dowling and his sister Lucy complain about the local water, and also are not impressed by the attitude of some of the locals so quickly leave.

Dolly takes off from the routines of Emmerdale Farm, and a chance encounter with Stephen promises excitement - but danger too. She gets a small piece of straw in her eye, and Stephen - used to working in timber yards etc - tells her he is something of an expert at getting bits of sawdust out of people's eyes, and manages to fish it out with a handkerchief. Henry is doing more bird watching and notices a peregrine falcon.

Henry and Matt rescue an injured peregrine falcon near the farm. Matt also speaks with Alan about fixing a faulty wall at Emmerdale. Dolly finds herself far away from Emmerdale, from Matt, and all the certainties of married life. She meets Steve by chance in Harrogate where he teaches some days at the agricultural college. She mentions how she was going to have another child after Sam but that went wrong, and she still feels very sorry about it. She says that she is happy at Emmerdale though. As they part, Stephen asks to see her again, next week. Hesitant initially, she agrees to meet him.

Dolly's absences from the farm have not gone unnoticed, and Matt is determined to find out what's been going on. Stephen goes to the rendevous point he and Dolly had arranged, but Dolly was unable to go: Matt had insisted they spend the day together to try and sort things out. Dolly had tried phoning to let him know, but was unable to reach him. Later, Phil jumps to conclusions when he sees Stephen chatting to Sandie outside the Woolpack, overhearing the end of the conversation, gaining entirely the wrong impression.

Phil, his suspicions about Stephen and Sandie getting the better of him, confronts Stephen in the Woolpack, threatening to punch him, whereupon Stephen puts him straight, telling him that Sandie actually thinks the world of him. Ironically, Matt defends Stephen, telling Phil he's being ridiculous. Later, Stephen meets Dolly at the rendevous place they'd agreed before, and pressures Dolly to spend the afternoon with him. Dolly resists, and they part, but as she is driving away, changes her mind and follows him to his cottage. Time is running out, and she knows she's risking losing both Matt and Stephen.

Sam is taken ill and Dolly is nowhere to be found. But Matt has a pretty good idea where she is. Stephen has been offered a job in Scotland. She says she loves him and does not want him to go away to Scotland for his new job. Joe calls round to the forresters cottage, but Dolly hides in the bedroom. Dolly returns to Emmerdale and is met by a furious Matt who knows she has been with Stephen.

Stephen tries to stop the affair with Dolly before any more damage is done - but as far as Matt's concerned it's already too late. Stephen then leaves for Scotland alone. Donald Hinton says that he saw Dolly leave the forresters cottage where Stephen was. Matt confronts Dolly about her affair with Stephen. Matt says that their marriage is over

Stephen has gone - and Dolly's attempts to pick up the pieces of her life are hard enough, without the village gossip. Eric cracks nasty jokes at Matt and Dolly's expense. Alan asks him to keep quiet.

Nick foils a raid on the Beckindale Shop and post office. He proves to be a hero of the hour. But as the robbers flee the scene, they drop some of the money onto the floor. Nick cannot help but take some of the money that the robbers dropped on the floor.

A quiet drink in The Woolpack turns into a nightmare for Matt, while Joe and Sandie discover that both Ruth and Phil have guilty secrets. Matt storms out of the pub when Phil asks how he is, and goes to his truck and cries. Jack follows him and provides a shoulder to cry on for Matt. They go back to fix the fence and then decide to call it a day. Nick is becoming friendlier with Clare Sutcliffe.

Joe has to decide whether he still wants to marry Ruth - and Nick discovers that the money he stole has gone missing. He goes to phone the police but then decides not to. Nick tells Archie. Archie gives him a lift into Leeds. Joe is horrified to discover that Ruth saw Liam while she was in Ireland. Ruth wants to be with Joe but he feels she may still remain in touch with Liam and that he cannot risk that. He says that every time she goes out, he will think she is going to see Liam or to phone him. She tries to talk him round but he says the trust has gone. He decides to break up with Ruth for good and asks her to leave.

Annie and Dolly have a chat about her marriage to Matt. Dolly has booked a holiday but Matt is not in the holiday mood and ends up tearing up the tickets. Phil is in trouble with the Inland Revenue and Sandie finds that he has been lying through his teeth about their debts. Nick is hiding his grief over stealing some of the money left over by the robbers in the Post Office raid. He and Archie meet Clare's sister Helen while in Leeds. They go to a department store and then onto a nightclub.

Eric chats up Dolly at Hotten Cattle Market and an angry Matt threatens to break his neck. Ruth and Joe call off their relationship once and for all and she decides to return to Ireland so she can marry Liam. Matt says he should have hit Eric. Matt and Dolly still have a lot of marriage troubles but plan to work on it. Nick takes Clare around Leeds. He then gets a bus back to Beckindale and invites her to visit him there.

Nick is still in a strange mood. Mrs. Bates and Kathy Merrick try and find out what is wrong with him. They even worry he may be on drugs but Kathy knows he would not do drugs. Dolly gets a letter from Stephen saying his offer to join her in Scotland is still on. Nick, Archie, Jackie, Clare and Helen have a party at Emmerdale Farm while Annie Sugden goes out for the evening.

Matt, Dolly and Sam are packing to go on holiday in Spain. While Matt takes a look around the farm to see that everything is alright, Dolly talks to Annie about the future

Someone calls the Woolpack in the middle of night and wakes up Amos. Kathy tells Jackie that she thinks there is something odd about Clare.

Matt, Dolly and Sam are back from their holiday, but there's still tension between them. Nick is looking for Clare, but Archie's sure she's left Beckindale for good.

Amos is fighting the death watch beetle in The Woolpack, but it looks like he's got a fight on his hands with Donald too, if he wants to hang on to his clothes!

An evening spent remembering the past takes Jack and Marian to the brink of a startling new future.