Emmerdale boss reveals 8 major storylines coming up — including the moment every fan has been waiting for

Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw has revealed all the sizzling drama that's set to hit the Dales this year.

What To Watch attended an Emmerdale press event where Shaw gave us all the soapy gossip coming to the village, including wedding drama, an explosive showdown and an intriguing storyline that centres on a much-loved character.

There's plenty more twists and turns in store too, as the moment every fan has been waiting for is about to come true - Nate's body is finally found!

Read below to see what's going to be unfolding in Emmerdale over the rest of the year.

Explosive showdown for Joe Tate

Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) has made quite a name for himself since he arrived in the village - and not the good kind. From stealing his uncle Caleb Miligan's (Will Ash) kidney to embarking on an affair with married Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley), it's safe to say the villain is not in everybody's good books.

So when everyone gathers for a surprise birthday party at Home Farm, all vengeful eyes are on Joe. Having found out that Joe spiked her son Noah Dingle (Jack Downham), causing the crash that killed three women, Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) is determined to get revenge. She's not the only one baying for Joe's blood though, as Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) is set to expose Joe's affair with his wife and is left seething when he finds out that Joe threatened his daughter Clemmie Reed (Mabel Addison).

So with the village gunning for Joe, which one of his enemies will strike? Laura Shaw teased: "The charismatic bad boy Joe Tate has already got quite a few enemies straight away but what we'll see is he manages to accrue quite a few more enemies as well. We've got this lavish birthday party that's been arranged for Lydia. There's lots of people and there are a lot of daggers drawn and a lot of people looking at Joe Tate and want him dead. I can tell you one person definitely will be getting their revenge on Joe Tate. But will they succeed in their murderous act?

"We did a brilliant story, which is the 'Who Killed Tom King?' storyline in 2006. This is going to be a homage to that as you'll see from die-hard fans and some little Easter eggs in there on that."

Bear Wolf's big storyline

Paddy Kirk's (Dominic Brunt) father, Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) first came to the Dales in 2019. Now, he's set to be involved in a mysterious plot which will see him go "missing" and go through a life-changing transformation. Shaw kept the main story under wraps, but hinted that: "[Bear]'s going to go off screen for a little while, he'll go missing and when he comes back what you'll see is a very different Bear in a very different situation. We're all going to be watching going: 'what the hell has happened here?' So that's going to be really exciting."

Sarah Sugden's baby heartache

Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) has recently decided she wants to have a baby despite suffering from the life-limiting illness Fanconi anemia. Her determination will see her at the centre of a major storyline over the next 12 months which will have lots of "twists and turns." Shaw added that it's going to cause some "big ruptures in the whole family" as a result.

Dylan returns

April Windsor's (Amelia Flanagan) friend Dylan (Fred Kettle) is returning to the village and was first introduced as part of April's devastating storyline which saw her run away from home.

Shaw made the announcement, saying: "[Dylan's] going to be bringing his past back to the village with him and that’s going to cause huge problems for April and the wider family there. We've got a couple of exciting new castings that are joining us for that story, but I'm not allowed to tell you who they are. Watch this space, because it's very exciting."

Lewis Barton arrives in the village

Bradley Riches will be playing Lewis Barton, the brother of Ross Barton (Michael Parr) and secret son of the late Emma Barton (Gillian Kearney), who was killed by Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb) in 2017. Details about his character are currently being kept under wraps, but Shaw shared that "this character was definitely created just for Bradley" and will "bring chaos" to the village.

Aaron Dingle and Mackenzie Boyd drama

There's drama in store for best friends Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) and Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), but not much is known about the trouble they find themselves in. However, Shaw teased that the big week of episodes coming up in Autumn are going to be "life-changing" for the pair.

Let's not forget that New Year flashforward of Mack running through the woods too - well, don't fear as Emmerdale haven't forgotten about it. "It might happen here, we shall see! We're actually in the process of building a new set for that week. I've just read the first draft of the script and I have to say, they're some of the most exciting and gripping episodes I've read in a long time."

Aaron and John Sugden's wedding

John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) may be hailed as the hero of the village, but the truth is far more sinister. After killing Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), the evil medic has gone on to harm Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) and Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) all under the illusion of trying to save their lives.

Another dark secret John has been desperately trying to hide is his ex-fiancé Aidan, who is currently in a coma in hospital. With his villainous ways escalating every week, it's only a certain amount of time before he's exposed and a wedding would be the perfect time to do it.

"John is full of trepidation heading into his wedding, worrying about all his secrets that might exposed along the way," Shaw said. "We'll see the wedding play out across the whole week - Monday to Friday is one day. We've got some stylistic fun in there with some of John's nightmares, and we see potential things that might happen.

"Aidan is in a coma and I can tell you he's absolutely not going to be in that coma forever, so if he does wake up, what secrets could he come back with? Is he going to walk in and spoil the wedding? We'll have to wait and see."

Nate Robinson's body is found

John has probably got bigger things on his mind though as Nate's body is still at the bottom of a lake. But that won't be the case for much longer when they decide to dredge the lake just as John prepares to wed Aaron.

"I can reveal Nate is not going to stay in the bottom of that lake forever. So when John finds out the lake is being dredged and knows the body is going to come up, will he make it to his vows? Is he going to be arrested? With Nate and Aidan both threatening to ruin the day for John, what lengths is John going to go to to stop that happening?" Shaw told us.

Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV1. See our TV Guide for full listings to find out when you can catch the soap on ITV1 and ITVX.