In a chilling turn of events in the Yorkshire Dales, Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) has ordered the murder of teenager April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan). The command came during the episode aired on December 30, 2025, after April's attempt to rescue Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) from the farm backfired spectacularly.
A Desperate Rescue Mission Goes Wrong
Celia, who is preparing to leave for Wrexham with partner Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), had already manipulated April into believing she must leave Emmerdale to keep her family safe. This stemmed from April's false belief that she killed Callum, a man who attacked her, when in reality Celia and Ray fabricated the death to control her.
The plot thickened when Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) revealed to April that Bear was being forced to work as a slave on the farm. Together, they planned a rescue for the following day. However, when April sneaked onto the farm while Celia was away and Ray was in the village with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), she encountered an unexpected obstacle: Bear refused to leave.
Bear, who is actually Paddy Kirk's (Dominic Brunt) father, has been so manipulated by the pair that he believes they have been good to him, thinking his son wants no relationship. April's efforts to reason with him were cut short when Celia returned unexpectedly, forcing the young girl to flee over a fence onto Moira Dingle's (Natalie J Robb) land.
The Murderous Command
That evening, a furious and paranoid Celia confronted Ray. She suspected April had been talking to Bear and feared their entire criminal operation was on the verge of exposure. With both April and Bear now seen as loose ends that could unravel everything, Celia decided on a final, brutal solution.
She handed Ray a sharpened knife and issued her deadly instructions: she would deal with Bear herself, and Ray was to kill April. Their goal was to make both "disappear for good," silencing the threats to their freedom permanently.
Ray's Crisis of Conscience
The episode ended on a tense cliffhanger, casting doubt on whether Ray can follow through with the heinous act. The narrative suggests the spell Celia has held over him for most of his life is weakening. The central question now is whether his loyalty to Celia will drive him to murder a child, or if a newfound conscience will stop him.
This dark storyline leaves the future of several Emmerdale residents hanging in the balance, with April's life now in the hands of the conflicted Ray.
