Emmerdale Full Episode Preview | Thursday 3 January 2026 — Kidnappings, Bomb Threats, and a Villain’s Resurrection Push the Village to Breaking Point
ITV’s Emmerdale shows no intention of easing viewers into 2026 gently. Instead, Thursday 3 January delivers a breathless, edge-of-your-seat episode that escalates the show’s darkest storyline into full-blown chaos. Fog-shrouded forests, a bomb-rigged warehouse, a wedding derailed by terror, and a final twist that rewrites everything we thought we knew — this is Emmerdale at its most ambitious and unsettling.
At the centre of the storm are fractured families, desperate lies, and a criminal network that turns out to be far bigger — and far more dangerous — than anyone imagined.
A fake death and a conscience on the brink
The episode opens deep in the forest, where John Sugden sits frozen behind the wheel of his car, staring at a blood-stained knife on the passenger seat. The weapon is staged evidence — proof of April Windsor’s supposed death — designed to satisfy Celia’s demands. John’s conscience is screaming at him to stop, to turn back, to tell the truth. But fear wins.
Celia’s threats against his family echo in his mind, choking any thought of defiance. With a shaky breath, John starts the engine and drives toward his meeting with her, leaving behind a terrified April running for her life in the fog.
It’s a harrowing opening that frames the entire episode around one devastating theme: survival at any cost.
A warehouse of lies and hostages
At an abandoned warehouse, the power dynamics shift violently. Ray Walters, once the snarling enforcer, lies unconscious on the filthy floor after a brutal blow from Kev Townsend. Kev, wired with adrenaline and fear, searches Ray’s pockets, finding cash and a phone — proof of how deep the criminal web runs.
Nearby, Robert Sugden sits bound to a chair, bruised but chillingly composed. Kev insists he’s saved Robert’s life, claiming Ray planned to kill them both. But Robert, ever calculating, sees the truth instantly. Kev hasn’t saved anyone — he’s merely delayed the inevitable.
Robert warns him: once Ray wakes up, or once Celia realises the plan has failed, they’re both dead.
Kev clings to the belief that he’s in control, that Robert is his bargaining chip to get Aaron Dingle back. But Robert cuts straight through the fantasy. Aaron would never forgive the man who kidnapped his husband. The only way out is cooperation — and disappearing before Celia’s reach closes in.
Then Ray’s phone rings.
The screen lights up with a name that drains the colour from the room: Celia.
The village senses disaster
Back in the village, the New Year’s glitter still clings to windows, but the mood is anything but festive. Marlon Dingle paces his living room, calling April’s phone again and again. No answer. April never turns her phone off. Never.
Rhona tries to stay calm, but even she can feel that something is deeply wrong. Dylan’s explanation that April went shopping makes no sense — everything is closed. The dread is creeping in.
Elsewhere, Sarah Sugden stands in front of the mirror in her wedding dress, its white fabric suddenly feeling unbearably heavy. This was meant to be her happiest day — a secret wedding to Jacob, arranged quietly and lovingly. Instead, threatening messages about her baby and Charity’s unexplained disappearance have turned excitement into fear.
When Charity bursts in, forcing cheer she doesn’t feel, Sarah asks the question that matters most: has anyone heard from Robert or Aaron?
Charity lies — barely.
A wedding shattered by terror
The church is small and warm, filled with only a handful of loved ones. Jacob waits nervously at the altar as Sarah walks in, radiant but searching the room for familiar faces that aren’t there. No Robert. No Aaron. No miracle.
As the ceremony begins, Charity’s phone vibrates violently.
The message that plays freezes her blood.
On screen, Aaron is bound in a van, eyes wide with terror. A distorted voice delivers the ultimatum: £100,000 at the old quarry before sunset — or Robert Sugden dies.
Charity stands up, halting the ceremony mid-vow. The wedding is over before it begins.
April returns from the dead
As panic spreads through the Dingles, another miracle — and another horror — unfolds. The Woolpack’s back door opens, and Dylan staggers in, supporting a pale, injured girl.
It’s April.
Marlon collapses as he catches his daughter, barely able to process that she’s alive. April begs them not to call the police. Celia has people everywhere. John saved her — but to do so, he had to make the world believe she was dead.
Then comes the bombshell: April overheard John on the phone. Robert isn’t just kidnapped.
He’s strapped to a bomb at the northern warehouse.
The ransom video was a diversion.
A race against death
Back at the warehouse, everything explodes into violence. Ray regains consciousness and stabs Kev, grabbing a gun and turning it on Robert. Laughing hysterically, Ray reveals the truth: Celia won’t let him live now that he’s failed — so he’s taking Robert with him.
The detonator is already wired under the chair.
Just as Ray presses the button, a Land Rover smashes through the doors. Cain Dingle storms in with an iron pipe, followed by Aaron, who escaped the van and was found on the road.
The detonator beeps.
Seconds pass.
Nothing happens.
A wounded Kev raises his hand, revealing severed wires. He’s an electrician — and Ray is an idiot.
Aaron launches himself at Ray as Cain and Billy restrain him. Robert collapses into Aaron’s arms, shaking, convinced he was seconds from death.
Justice — and a terrifying twist
Police arrive, arresting Ray and Kev. But when Cain asks about Celia, Ray only laughs.
She wasn’t one person, he says.
She was a system.
And she’s only just begun.
At the hospital, April is safe but traumatised. John Sugden has vanished, leaving behind a letter confessing everything — and insisting he did it to protect her.
Sarah sits alone in her wedding dress as fireworks light the sky.
And then the final scene changes everything.
In a luxurious London penthouse, a woman turns toward the camera as she answers a phone call. Ray has failed.
The face revealed is one the audience believed was long dead.
“Activate Plan B,” she says calmly. “It’s time I returned home.”
Why this episode changes Emmerdale forever
Thursday 3 January doesn’t just raise the stakes — it detonates them. April lives. Robert and Aaron survive by seconds. A wedding is destroyed. And Celia is no longer just a villain.
She’s a legacy.
As Emmerdale begins 2026 drenched in blood, secrets, and fear, one question lingers over the village:
Who — or what — is Celia really?
And if she’s coming back, will anyone survive what comes next?