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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Tutton

Emmerdale Christmas and 2023: Emotional Cathy plot, Dingle flashback and wedding drama

Emmerdale's Executive Producer Jane Hudson has revealed what viewers can expect from the rest of 2022 on the ITV soap, and what will occur in 2023.

The soap boss spilled on all the looming drama amid current dramatic storylines, with bombshells to explode.

With Chas Dingle's affair with Al Chapman yet to be unearthed by most of the village, including her husband Paddy, fans can expect this to finally come to light in dramatic fashion.

Another secret waiting to unravel is the fact Mackenzie Boyd cheated on Charity Dingle with teen Chloe Harris, and now she's pregnant.

The new year will see things escalate for the pair, as they continue to hide the truth leading up to the birth - just as Mackenzie prepares to tie the knot with Charity.

Little Kyle Winchester is hiding a dark lie of his own, after fans learned he was the real killer of Al - something his dad Cain Dingle has taken the blame for.

The arrival of Cain's secret brother Caleb Miligan only spells more trouble for him, while Chas is in for a big shock.

Emmerdale producer Jane Hudson spilled what's ahead on the ITV soap later this month and in 2023 (ITV)

Jane spilled Christmas would be a little quieter than recent times on the show, but there was plenty of drama still to unfold.

There's also big scenes ahead for youngster Cathy Hope and Bernice Blackstock, while Gabby Thomas has her eyes on newcomer Nicky.

Teasing the big spoilers for Christmas and beyond, Jane revealed there were "emotional" and "challenging" scenes ahead for some, big surprises and possible revelations too.

She told The Mirror and other press: "So I think it’s very important for us after our big October month, where four people died, that we do have some feel good, and there's the importance of togetherness and family and friends, and checking in on each other to make sure [everyone is] okay.

"It’s not all going to be like that, but we've got Paddy and Chas who are absolutely at their worst because the affair has been discovered, and they are forced to spend Christmas Day together, and it does not go well.

Will Ash will play Caleb on the soap (ITV)
The arrival of Cain's secret brother Caleb only spells more trouble for him (ITV)

"And then the other thing that’s going on is we’ve got Cain still in prison and he’s gonna get a visit from his brother on Christmas Day, Caleb played by Will Ash.

"I think viewers are gonna fall in love with him, you're all gonna fall in love with him very soon."

Revealing details of a special flashback, she went on: "So when Caleb visits him in prison we will discover that Cain knew Caleb existed, and has known about him for 30 years. On Boxing Day we will rewind to 1992 and discover how Cain and Caleb first met, why Cain then rejected him from his life and what was going on with Chas at that point.

"It's a brilliant episode that will explain a lot about their family history, and as much as Cain wants Caleb to disappear for another 30 years Caleb is not going to have that.

"He wants to meet Chas and meet the rest of his extended family, and could he be the answer to all the Dingles' prayers in regards to Cain being locked up? You'll have to wait and find out.

Jane spilled Christmas would be a little quieter than recent times on the show (ITV)

"Of course we all know Cain didn't [shoot Al] and that Kyle is responsible, and we probably all know the worst place to keep a secret is Emmerdale, so we are waiting to see if that secret comes out and the consequences if that happens."

On what else is ahead in the village, Jane went on: "We've also got Home Farm and a new actor, Lewis Cope, the nanny at Home Farm.

"I think this is the first time Home Farm has had a nanny. He’s a very good looking nanny who catches the eye of Gabby the minute he walks in.

"There’s lots of fun in store for Nicky and Gabby as we watch their fledgling romance and like any good story, there will be a few reveals along the way.

"So we know that Mackenzie is the father of Chloe's baby and it's again another secret in the village that’s probably not gonna be a secret for long.

"We have got the Charity and Mackenzie wedding on the cards which is happening next year. I think we know weddings don't always go very smoothly, and Chloe's baby is maybe due around the time of the wedding, so I'll leave it to yourselves to figure out what might happen around the wedding date and birth date, and it will be explosive for Charity and Mackenzie.

"We are continuing our story with Paddy and Chas, and how you navigate trying be the best parents you can when your marriage has fallen to pieces and one of you had an affair, and we'll watch both of them go on their journeys and it's gonna be very serious and quite heartbreaking, as we watch what happens to what was one of our favourite couples until we tore them apart.

"We’ve also got Bernice's menopause story. Again we like to have stories that resonate a lot with our viewers and not just females, men as well.

Mackenzie and Chloe are hiding a secret (ITV)

"We think it's important for men to know about the menopause too. Samantha Giles does it brilliantly cos she manages to put humour in to something that is quite sad and hard and difficult, we really get to enjoy that story while we understand what this woman is going through as she faces the menopause.

"We're gonna have some new owners at the B&B, I'm not going to tell you who new owners are but let's just say it's very boutique, and the decor is very glamorous. It's got an absolute touch of class and it's just on the right side of not being cheesy. It's going to be two owners who are not a couple."

Discussing later on in 2023, Jane teased: "We're storylining June at the minute. We are busy working on our summer storylines at the moment cos I always like to have a bit of a summer spectacular.

"I would say the start of 2023 is explosive for the Dingles. We have got Cain at the heart of what is happening in the village, we have got Paddy and Chas at the heart of what is happening, and we have got Charity and Mack, so the Dingles are really kicking off 2023 with a bang. It's all going on for them."

Teasing more about the New Year, Jane told us: "A lot of the youngsters have big stories coming up. You’ll see a really big story for Cathy, Bob's daughter, which is really emotional.

Kyle's secret is under threat (ITV)

"It's her first big story and a challenging one, and I think one a lot of parents will connect with and one I haven't seen a soap do before so Cathy has a big story coming up.

"Noah and Amelia have got their story going on. Amelia has had the baby and Noah is a kind of surrogate father. Samson is going to be more devious than usual in terms of looking after himself. It will cause big arguments with his father, they have got quite a big story going on.

"Then we’ve got April's story as she navigates her world with her dad as he recovers form his stroke."

On if Chas can be redeemed, Jane said: "That depends how forgiving you are as a person... I think the viewers are gonna find it difficult to forgive her for breaking Paddy's heart, but what we will start to see is Chas doing her absolute best to right her wrongs, and to put other people first and acknowledge what she did."

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.

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