Emmerdale spoilers: Ellis gets a visit from his dad Al... what does he want?

There's a blast from the past for Ellis on Emmerdale when his businessman dad Al suddenly turns-up in the village! Is this good... or bad news?

When Marlon Dingle (played by Mark Charnock), his wife Jessie (Sandra Marvin) and her sons Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) and Ellis Chapman (Asan N'Jie) were walking home in yesterday's episode of Emmerdale, they failed to notice a mystery man was watching them from afar...

But all is revealed in today's episode, when Ellis goes to meet a potential client about work and it is the same mystery man... aka Ellis's missing-in-action businessman dad, Al Chapman (played by Michael Wildman, who has appeared in the big screen films Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix and Ready Player One)!

What is Al doing in the village? Is his arrival good news... or bad news?

Thrown by his meeting with his dad, Ellis tries to pick the right moment to tell his mum Jessie that one of her ex-es has appeared out-of-the-blue.

But before he gets the chance to break the news, Al arrives unannounced at a birthday party being thrown for Marlon's daughter April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan)...

What kind of welcome will Al get from the family?

Emmerdale, Marlon Dingle, Jessie Dingle, Ellis Chapman, Al Chapman — Awkward! Marlon meets his wife Jessie's ex, Al on Emmerdale. (Picture: ITV)

Elsewhere in the village, Debbie Dingle's (Charley Webb) mind is made up, as she packs her bags and prepares to leave the village and move to Scotland - to take over the running of the garage family relative Lisa Dingle left Debbie in her will.

Emmerdale, Debbie Dingle, Sarah Sugden — Debbie says goodbye to daughter Sarah as she gets ready to move to Scotland on Emmerdale. (Picture: ITV)

But while Debbie's daughter Sarah (Katie Hill) and most of her family are supportive about her move, the question remains will her stubborn mum Charity (Emma Atkins) turn-up to say goodbye?

Emmerdale continues weeknights at 7:00pm on ITV

Simon has long been a fan of soap operas, and especially loves OVER-THE-TOP plots involving evil twins, hair-pulling catfights and natural disasters. Anyone remember the Sunset Beach earthquake/tidal wave? Or when Krystle Carrington got locked in the attic and replaced by look-a-like Rita in Dynasty?!

Simon has written for a variety of TV and childrens’ magazines/websites including Inside Soap, Nickelodeon, What’s On TV, Radio Times, Metro, Girl Talk, Disney Girl, Toxic! and Digital Spy. He has reported LIVE from the red carpet at The British Soap Awards interviewing glammed-up stars from soapland, and hosted a Facebook LIVE session for Metro with Home and Away legend Ray Meagher (Alf "Stone the flamin' crows!" Stewart) to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Aussie soap.