Emmerdale spoilers: Ruby crumbles as Steph has questions, Bob deals with grief and a villager's shocking plan

As 2025 started, Emmerdale kicked off with a bang with Ruby struggling after her abusive father Anthony announced he would be staying in the village, and teenager April going missing at Christmas. With April still not found and DNA test results showing that Anthony is the father of Steph, the tension in the Dales continues to rise.

Steph takes her frustration out on Caleb and Ruby as she realises that Anthony's car is gone, thinking that they've made him flee the village. Caleb tries to convince her that this is what Anthony has always been like, but Ruby begins to crumble under the emotional turmoil of it all.

The following day, Chas admits that she told Nicola and Laurel that Anthony was a danger to children. Ruby turns livid and tells Chas that she has to take back what she said in order to protect Steph who still doesn’t know the truth.

As instructed, Chas backtracks what she's said leaving Nicola and Laurel reeling as they believe his disappearance has something to do with them. They pretend to be grateful towards Chas for setting things straight, but once she's gone Laurel struggles to conceal the truth and tells Nicola she's going to the police. Can Nicola convince her away from the cliff edge?

Elsewhere in the village, Kerry coaxes out of Pollard that he feels he has failed Brenda because he hasn’t sold the shop and paid back her life savings by now. Kerry worries that Pollard will push himself to the brink in his condition, and is adamant that Brenda wouldn't mind waiting until he has the money.

However, Kerry is unaware of the extent of Pollard's turmoil until she sees matches and accelerants at the shop. After being backed into a corner, Pollard admits he’s going to burn down the shop for the insurance claim