By Laura Denby

Published: Tuesday, 13 December 2022 at 12:00 am

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Just when you thought the Dingle family tree couldn’t get any bigger, another character joins the fold! William Ash arrives in the village this Christmas in the role of Caleb Miligan, the secret brother of Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley). But why have we never seen him before, and what does he want? There’s also a shock in store for Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), while her husband Paddy (Dominic Brunt) is struggling too.

Meanwhile, Liam Cavanagh’s (Jonny McPherson) day of indulgence ends badly, and dodgy law boss Greg issues Ethan Anderson (Emile John) with a threat. David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) is upset when son Jacob Gallagher (Joe Warren Plant) tells a hurtful fib; while Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) and Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles) get to work on a joint project.

Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) clashes with Kim Tate (Claire King) after coming to a new decision on her future, and Rhona Goskirk (Zoë Henry) is not happy with Naomi Walters (Karene Peter). As for Leyla Cavanagh (Roxy Shahidi), she’s also feeling the strain of the festive season.

Read on for all your Emmerdale spoilers from 25th December 2022 until 6th January 2023.

10 Emmerdale spoilers for Christmas and New Year

1. Cain has a Christmas visitor

On Christmas Day, Cain receives a visitor – Caleb. The two men stare each other down without a word, and when they finally begin to talk, Caleb expresses his surprise that their mother, Faith (Sally Dexter) has recently died. Cain had previously told him that Faith had died 30 years ago.

Caleb demands to know why Cain lied, angry that his brother took away his chance to get to know his family. Cain responds by telling Caleb to stay away, but how did things turn out so strained between them? As Moira (Natalie J Robb) visits her husband in prison, Emmerdale reveals all in a flashback to the year 1991 which tells the story behind Cain and Caleb. What secrets will we discover?

2. A shock for Chas

ITV

Oblivious to what’s going on with brother Cain, Chas drops off some Christmas presents at the Dingles – as well as a birthday gift for Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper). But when Belle and Mandy (Lisa Riley) remain hostile towards her following recent events, Chas is left out in the cold. She seeks solace in the closed, empty Woolpack, and is mortified to find Paddy and their daughter Eve with Marlon’s (Mark Charnock) family having some festive fun.

Chas and Paddy have to continue their ceasefire for Eve’s sake, while Marlon is emotional as he thanks everyone for their support during his recovery this year. But the awkward atmosphere is too much for Chas, who leaves with her mum’s firework and visits daughter Grace’s grave. She reads out the card written to her by Faith before she died, trying to stay strong. But when a stranger approaches with some bombshell news just as Faith’s firework takes off, Chas is left stunned. Could it be Caleb, explaining their family connection?

3. Paddy’s heartbreak leads to a mistake

ITV

Despite putting on a front for Eve, poor Paddy is in pieces too – only we may have a little more sympathy for him! But disaster strikes when the stressed vet accidentally gives Vinny’s (Bradley Johnson) dog Chip an overdose of a sedative. Will Chip be OK, or could Paddy have caused an irreversible mistake in the wake of his heartbreak? Later, Paddy sits in the car feeling hopeless, and tears begin to fall as he continues to struggle. Will he be able to rise above what he’s going through and carry on with his life?

4. Liam’s festive feast ends in disaster

ITV

Having been invited to multiple houses for Christmas dinner, Liam heads to the Dingles for his first visit of the day. Liam tries to turn down a plate of food, knowing he’s still got another few trips to make. But he’s out of luck and ends up feeling stuffed as he wanders over to Rishi Sharma’s (Bhasker Patel), where Liam is stunned to see a table piled with huge amounts of food.

Hauling himself down the street after eating and drinking too much, Bernice then tells Liam they’ve saved him some food, too. Staring down yet another plate of food, Liam knows what he must do. Later, the air is charged as he shares a moment with ex Bernice, and the pair kiss. Will this lead to romance, or has Liam bitten off more than he can chew – literally?

5. Stressed Leyla under pressure

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Alone for Christmas, Leyla eats a meal for one as she blocks out the noise from the nearby party. Later, things get worse for her as she juggles the stresses of life and work. She’s also left very conflicted about something. With soon-to-be ex-husband Liam distracted elsewhere, will anyone realise that Leyla is lonely and in a bad place once more? Could she suffer a relapse after beginning recovery for her drug addiction? Or is she conflicted about something else entirely?

6. Greg threatens Ethan

ITV

There’s good cheer at the Andersons’ this Christmas, as Ethan takes the church sound system and puts it in the street with some disco lights, starting a street party. But when Greg arrives, he threatens to destroy Ethan’s professional reputation unless Ethan and boyfriend Marcus Dean (Darcy Grey) drop their complaint against him. Ethan later confronts Greg after he leaves bad reviews online about Marcus’s business – but can he get Greg to back down and face the music for his actions, or do Ethan and Marcus have a long battle on their hands?

7. David is hurt by Jacob’s big lie

ITV

Jacob lies to his university friends that Doctor Liam is his dad, and the situation soon spirals. When David, who has brought Jacob up since he was young, overhears one of Jacob’s pals refer to Leyla and Liam as his mum and dad, Jacob is left mortified, and David is hurt. Can Jacob make things right, or has a new rift been created? With David in financial dire straits, Jacob appearing to favour his stepdad over him clearly stings.

8. Bob and Bernice team up

ITV

Bernice is annoyed with her sister Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) for interfering, and she feels like everyone is treating her menopause as a joke. Wallowing in self-pity, Bernice struggles with her symptoms, but finally agrees to seek help. Then, feeling that the conversation around menopause needs a makeover, Bernice senses a project coming on.

As the New Year festivities get under way, Bernice tries to recruit people for her support group. After pal Bob is mocked for his out of date DJ tunes at the local party, he ends up being enlisted by Bernice, who gets an idea when Pollard (Chris Chittell) reveals a position may be available at the B&B.

Then Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop) reveals that she and Pollard are retiring, and Bernice shows off her plans for the B&B. She’s chuffed when Pollard gives her the job, and she and Bob bounce ideas off each other. But Mandy insists she works her notice at the salon first, and Bernice plots to take Bob and Wendy Posner’s (Susan Cookson) business away from the salon. Mandy fires her, and Bernice is pleased that her plan worked perfectly. But will she regret mistreating Mandy?

9. Dawn’s decision

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Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) is unimpressed when Dawn warns her off new nanny Nicky (played by newcomer Lewis Cope). Meanwhile, Dawn and husband Billy (Jay Kontzle) share a smile as they survey how well things are going with Nicky and the kids. But Dawn is sad to learn about all the fun Nicky is having with them while she must work.

Power-dressed for a big meeting, Dawn is later guilt-ridden to be missing Clemmie’s swimming. So she makes a drastic decision which ends in an argument with stepmum Kim. As things reach boiling point, what does Dawn decide about her future at Home Farm?

10. Rhona vs Naomi

ITV

After Naomi gives her a pep talk over Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke), teen April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) feels bolstered. But dad Marlon and stepmum Rhona are frustrated over their daughter’s attitude. When Rhona catches April wearing bright nail varnish, she links her new attitude to Namoi’s influence, Naomi confronts Rhona over her accusations, and they have a row. Nicola also drips poison in Rhona’s ear over Naomi, but have they got it all wrong?

Read more:

• Emmerdale’s Caleb has ‘axe to grind’ with Cain: ‘There’s simmering resentment’
• Who is Emmerdale’s Nicky? Stars reveal all on new Home Farm nanny

Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV. Catch up on ITVX. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on.

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