NEVER fear, there is still plenty of drama to come on Emmerdale.

The ITV soap recently recruited a new producer in the form of Sophie Roper, who has been working on the show for nearly a decade.

She promised that she ‘lived and breathed’ Emmerdale, having previously been the show’s story producer.

Now, the executive has revealed that there are huge stories set to air over the coming months.

They will include the news of a tragic death, the return of legendary characters, and a huge stunt that will have wide-ranging impacts.

Here is what’s in the works:

Zak Dingle’s Death

Actor Steve Halliwell sadly passed away in December last year after a period of ill health at the age of 77.

Sophie has now revealed that Emmerdale plans to mark his passing and the death of his character, Zak Dingle.

She explained: “The Dingles have been at the heart of our show for 30 years now and will continue to be so. And as many of you will know, of course, we lost Steve recently.

“So we’re going to be marking Zac’s passing, [the] iconic Zac Dingle character, in the coming months with a Dingle funeral.

She added: “So very difficult for a lot of people who work on the show and obviously for a lot of our viewers who have grown and loved Zac for many, many years.

“But it will be a hugely fitting tribute to such an iconic character coming up.”

Mandy and Paddy’s wedding

However, it will not be all sad times for the Dingle family as they also have plenty to celebrate.

Lisa Riley and Dominic Brunt have played Mandy Dingle and Paddy Kirk on Emmerdale for a number of years.

The duo are known amongst fans to be the life and soul of the village and fans are absolutely ecstatic at the prospect of their wedding.

The boss has teased that this will be a celebration to remember, and views can look forward to ‘fun’ scenes.

“Elsewhere in the Dingle world, we’ve got Mandy and Paddy building towards a wedding. It is Mandy and Paddy so that’s going to be filled with fun,” Sophie admitted.

“We’ve had Mandy’s dress made in-house by one of our dressmakers. It’s going to be very Mandy, it’s going to be very big, it’s going to be very fun.”

She added: “So look out for some fun in and amongst all of that with the Dingles clan as well.

New and returning characters

The soap executive has admitted that fans can expect some shock returns to the Dales in the near future.

Alongside some familiar faces, the producers are introducing a new character to the Sugden clan.

They are the longest running family in Emmerdale, appearing in the first ever episode of the show in 1972.

However, Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) is currently the only remaining member of the infamous family.

In a bid to shake things up, they’re about to get a fresh face in the form of Oliver Farnworth, who will play the character of John.

Sophie revealed: “We’ve got some returning and new, and kind of exciting faces coming into the show over the next few months.

“And I’m pleased to confirm that we’ll have Oliver Farnworth joining us as a new casting. And he’s coming into the show as a new Sugden.

“The Sugdens, just like the Dingles, are an iconic family group in Emmerdale and we’re keen to cement them back in the show.”

She added: “So Oliver’s a brilliant new addition, incredibly talented and we’re really looking forward to welcoming him.

“And he’s going to bring lots of drama to the Dales which I’m going to keep quite tight-lipped about for now.”

Belle and Tom abusive relationship

Viewers have been shocked, surprised, and saddened by recent shocking scenes on the long-running ITV serial drama.

We have seen Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) locked in her house as a fire raged in the kitchen as the abuse from twisted husband Tom (James Chase) intensified.

“Belle and Tom, so that’s obviously a huge storyline for us at the moment.

“An incredibly important, if not difficult storyline to watch at moments,” explained Sophie.

She added: “And it’s resonating with our audience because of course it’s such a huge real issue.

“So we continue with that story and try to be really truthful to those kind of relationships.”

According to Sophie, the drama is only going to get more intense for the pair, especially with their own dedicated episode set in Wales.

She revealed: “We’ve got a special episode coming up that sees Tom and Belle head off to Wales on a trip away together.

“And actually, we recreated Wales in Yorkshire. Our fantastic design team, we’ve got a cottage up in the village that we’ve redressed and made this beautiful Welsh retreat.

“So it’s really fantastic the lengths that they’ve gone to to create that within our world. The story of course, those sets to the backdrop of this beautiful cottage will be really hard-hitting and difficult at moments.

She added: “Tom is very much isolating Belle from her family, from her surroundings, from everything that she knows and loves. Which is very much unfortunately a typical trait of abusers and people who are trying to isolate their victims from their family.

“So it will be difficult drama at moments but a really important message and a really important story that we’re keen to continue to tell.”

Huge Explosion

Emmerdale has been known among enthusiastic fans for its huge and iconic stunts over the years.

Previous examples that come to mind include the plane crash of 1993, the King’s River show-home explosion, and multiple fires in the Woolpack.

However, the producer has now teased that there is another huge stunt that will be coming up.

She remained tight lipped about the upcoming scenes, but she did confirm there will be a fire element.

Sophie admitted: “We’ve got a lot of stunts coming up. So we’re actually filming this week.

“I’m not going to tell you too much, you’ll get in trouble with the press team at my first press conference.”

“But what I can tell you is there will be fire engines involved. So take from that what you will.”

She added: “And it’s going to be a really explosive week of Emmerdale.”

Caleb and Ruby’s blast from the past

Sophie also teased that there is far more in store for Caleb (Will Ash) and Ruby (Beth Cordingly) as the script writers intend to explore more of their backstory.

She said: “Elsewhere, we’ve got Caleb and Ruby who again have kind of landed in the village and had a real impact. But we don’t know a huge amount of them.

“There’s lots in terms of their history, particularly Ruby’s that is yet unknown.”

According to the boss, this will involve a character who emerges from their past lives.

“And we’re going to see a bit of a blast from their past to come back and really give us some more about this complicated relationship between husband and wife.

“And also the complicated family dynamics that we have there. So lots to stay tuned for in terms of Caleb and Ruby and their wider story.”

The future of Ella

Former Coronation Street star Paula Lane, first joined Emmerdale in Janruary 2024 as Ella Forster.

She held a huge secret from the village, as it was later revealed she murdered her friend Joanne in a jealous rage when she was younger.

Now the producer has confirmed that the character will definitely have a future on the soap.

“And finally we’ve had the Ella storyline recently which had a really huge twist which I think was quite unexpected but really kind of powerful,” Sophie commented.

“And Ella will continue in the show and her past will kind of continue to haunt her.

“Her relationship with Liam will remain complicated and we’ll kind of continue to question will she ever get her happily ever after? Can she ever really escape the past that’s led her to this point?”

She added: “So lots happening. Lots of brilliant dramatic stories. Lots of different tones and genres of stories.”

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Source: USA Today