Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw has teased all of the explosive drama to come between now and Christmas.
Talking to What To Watch, soap boss Laura revealed some huge spoilers that are set to cause chaos across the village, including a saucy affair and a baby bombshell that will destroy a marriage.
As well as new characters and a familiar face returning, this year's Emmerdale Christmas and New Year is guaranteed to be a drama-filled celebration.
Here are all the explosive storylines heading to the Dales over the coming months...
Special Dingle episodes
One of the soap's most loved families is set to get their own special episodes with dark secrets being exposed — and Laura has promised it's going to be "very memorable."
She told us: "Obviously, we know that they are one of our favourite families in soap and we're going to be doing something a little bit special with the Dingles coming up. I think pretty much all the Dingles are going to be involved and the episodes were filmed in a slightly different way from our usual style.
"We've kind of played with the format a little bit. I can say there's going to be lots of secrets being revealed and all the cast and crew that have been involved in the filming have been absolutely raving about it. Having seen the final episodes myself last week, I think it's going to be very memorable."
New arrivals
We're also set to welcome some new characters to the Dales as we finally meet another member of the Sharma family following the shock death of Rishi Sharma (Bhasker Patel).
Laura teased: "We’ve got some new people joining us as well. You’re going to meet Anil Goutam who plays Amit — a new character joining us as part of the Sharma family.
"Obviously, we found out not so long ago that Rishi was actually not Jai’s biological father, and actually Jai’s father is Amit, who is Rishi’s brother and Suni’s father. So, clearly, we weren’t going to leave that one hanging for too long before we brought Amit in.
"What you’ll see with Amit is quite a dark and complex character, and although we see Suni wanting him to stick around, could Suni end up regretting that? Is Amit hiding another secret that threatens to blow the whole family apart?"
The Emmerdale boss also revealed that a steamy affair will pave the way for an explosive new arrival next year that will cause chaos in the village.
"We're very excited about it here," Laura said of the newcomer. "It's going to be explosive and that new arrival is going to cause uproar in the village."
She went on to say that the soap will be introducing "more exciting new characters" into the New Year, who will be revealed nearer the time.
Devastating health storyline
The soap will take on an important health storyline that will have a huge impact on one of the show's best loved residents and their close ones.
Laura kept tight-lipped on who will receive the tragic diagnosis, but hinted that it will be similar to Ashley Thomas' (John Middleton) dementia storyline.
"We've got a big health storyline coming up as well that involves one of our most loved well known characters. I can't say this stage who it is, but it's definitely going to have a huge impact on their lives and all the people around them," she revealed.
"We're working closely with a really amazing charity, who have been guiding us every step of the way. It's going to be quite a long storyline, it's going to run over a period of months, years. Think along the lines of Ashley’s dementia storyline, it’s going to be like that."
Baby bombshell
While we wait for Billy (Jay Kontzle) and Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) to welcome their bundle of joy over the festive period, Laura shared that another new baby will tear a married Emmerdale couple apart and destroy their relationship.
Laura hinted: "So we know that Dawn and Billy are pregnant and excitedly waiting for their baby, which is conveniently due around Christmas. But we do have another baby that is joining us and this one won't quite be the happy news of Billy and Dawn though. It's going to be a huge shock for one of our couples in Emmerdale and it's going to literally turn their lives upside down and result in a big fracture in what was once a very solid marriage."
Passionate affair
Affairs are a common occurrence in Emmerdale, so it's no surprise that the soap is lining one up again.
Laura teased that one of the characters involved is seemingly happily married and it will lead to an unwelcome newcomer.
"We've got a very passionate steamy affair coming up between two people and one of them at the moment is currently seemingly very happily married. The affair's going to have huge repercussions, it's going to affect a lot of our villagers," she revealed.
Explosive Christmas
In classic soap fashion, there's set to be plenty of drama heading to the village this Christmas.
However, this year's festivities will take on a different tone compared to the last couple of years.
Laura shared: "Heading up to Christmas we’ve got some exciting plans but I have absolutely, definitely been sworn to secrecy on this one! What I can tell you is that the last couple of years, we’ve kind of done a light, fluffier Christmas for Emmerdale, but this one is quite different in tone.
"A lot of it is edgier for us for Christmas and I can tell you that definitely not every one of our villagers will be sat down eating their turkey with all the trimmings on Christmas day."
Main character return
Laura brushed upon a fan favourite returning in the new year, but didn't give away any details as to who it could be.
She told What To Watch: "We'll be seeing a well known face returning."
Unhappy New Year
To top it all off, New Year's will see tragedy hit one family and prison horror for one villager.
Laura explained: "We've got tragedy striking one family in the new year. We've got one or two of our villagers getting into very serious trouble, and at least one of which may end up with them being sent to prison."
Happy New Year — not!
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30 pm on ITV1, with a hour-long episode on Thursdays — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on ITVX.
