Welcome to our regular look ahead at what’s going to happen in Emmerdale this week and it’s an explosive one.
Rakesh sets fire to his building project, Nicola feels the brunt of it and young lust blossoms for Jacob and Gabby.
Read on…
Rakesh sets fire to Mill Cottage…
Ronnie tells Rakesh that Mill is dangerous and he can’t work on it and that he should tell Emma and James the truth. Rakesh ignores him and tries to pin the dry rot issue on previous work done by Jimmy and Nicola. It seems Jimmy might have unwittingly planted a seed in his head when he talks about the insurance covering previous plastering work and Rakesh is soon checking his paperwork. A plan is formed.
Rakesh ensures he’s got an alibi in David’s shop when he leaves no one in doubt he is present before he sneaks off and makes a dash for his building works at Mill. He’s surprised to see how nice Priya has made everything but is soon smashing things up and graffitting the walls. He then pours white spirits over the flat, only stopping to grab Kirin’s basketball medals, strikes a match and runs out.
…and Nicola is caught in the explosion
Nicola is determined to get her revenge on Jimmy by making him have sex with her in as many places as possible. That includes Mill Cottage, where she drags him in complete with a bag of sex toys.
Later, she realises that they left the sex toys in Mill and goes back to retrieve them and gets trapped upstairs when Rakesh arrives and starts smashing up the place. She hides until she’s sure whoever is down there has gone, but as she opens the door she’s hit by a wall of flames. As she runs for the door a box of spirits explodes and she’s soon trapped and buried under scaffolding. Her screams alert Ronnie and Dan who are nearby and run to her aide.
A guilty Rakesh is relieved when the investigating police officer is an old friend and decides to put the next phase of his plan into action. First though, he heads to see Nicola the hospital to make sure she didn’t see him start the fire and is pleased when she says she didn’t see who did it.
At the hospital, Nicola is checked over and discharged, but soon Jimmy finds Nicola unconscious on the floor: they head back to the hospital where it transpires she has to have an operation. As she comes round she’s alarmed that she’s paralysed down her right side. The consultant runs some tests and warns them not to worry yet, but will the damage be permanent?
Andy thinks Lawrence is gay
Before the fire, Ronnie tells Lawrence about Bernice’s outburst and Lawrence loses it telling Ronnie he wishes he was dead. As he gets back to Home Farm, he tries to make amends with Bernice and is horrified to learn she’s told Andy everything. Lawrence swears to Bernice he’s not gay and she agrees to stay with him, but she’s clearly conflicted.
Later, at the hospital, as Ronnie lies unconscious following his attempt to save Nicola, Lawrence is cut up as he apologises for being so cruel. Unbeknownst to Lawrence however, Andy sees him holding Ronnie’s hand and later confronts Lawrence. How will he explain this one?
Elsewhere…
A tipsy Jacob and Gabby lay ‘Never Have I Ever’ and pretend to each other they’ve both had sex before and start kissing. It’s not long before Laurel walks in on them. As the parents get together to discuss what they are going to do with the pair, everyone is shocked to see a bruise that Gabby claims Laurel gave her.  Soon Laurel has the temptation of drink placed in front of her.
Holly suggests she go solo in the van and enjoys a fix by the roadside before being interrupted by Simon. She reluctantly hands him the money and goes to drive but Simon tells her she’s in no fit state and should sleep it off. She’s woken by Adam calling to tell her to bring the van back for a big potential client visit. She struggles to stay awake at the wheel and is soon veering into the path of an oncoming vehicle…
Ashley pushes Laurel’s trust by testing her with leaving him alone with the kids. They play hide and seek but Ashley panics when he finds the front door open and Angelica nowhere to be seen.
Victoria accidentally sprays Finn with a red anti attack spray and he later loses a taxi contract due to his red face.
