Copyright manchestereveningnews
Emmerdale's Joe Absolom shared that viewers will get a feeling of what Ray's life has been like as he delves into a relationship with Laurel. Actor Joe made his Emmerdale debut as Ray Walters this year, and upon his arrival he manipulated teenagers Dylan and April into helping him with his drugs business. As he lied telling them they have a serious debt to pay and that his boss keeps adding interest, the teens have found themselves trapped in the vicious cycle. Things are set to get worse in upcoming episodes that will air next week. In a hurry to get to the Depot, Dylan insists on doing a handover in the open, angering Ray who reminds him of his priorities. DS Carter, having just questioned Kev, spots Ray on Main Street. Ray ditches the backpack Dylan gave him behind a wall and goes over to speak with Carter. DS Carter watches Ray leave, unknowingly stopping him from collecting his bag. Meanwhile, Vinny and Lewis push back against Ross's bossiness. Ross agrees to help them bring in some bags, including Ray's. Ray later spots his rucksack at Dale View, but his attempt to retrieve it is thwarted by Ross. Ray then orders Dylan to get the rucksack back. Dylan attempts to turn on the charm with Vinny but failing to let him in, Dylan feels the pressure. While Vinny is at the shop, Dylan pretends to buy flowers and manages to steal Vinny's keys to Dale View. At the same time, Ray asks April to meet someone, leaving her feeling compromised and uncertain, but she clearly has no choice. April runs into Dylan and they both hide their anxieties. Dylan notices April is troubled and asks her what's wrong but April covers. Later, Dylan sneaks into Dale View to search for Ray's bag, but comes up empty-handed. He's stunned when Ray berates him. Afterward, Dylan meets April on Main Street and reveals he found the bag after all and stole all the money from it - enough for them to run away together. As April and Dylan put their escape plan in motion, they receive a video message from Ray. Will April and Dylan get out while they can? Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Joe said: "It's a real moment where he realises he's maybe losing a grip on these two people, and then he has to now take it to a different level, and also try and get them back on side and get the money back. "So, it's a risk of losing everything really". As Ray struggles with the pressure from his boss, and mother, Celia, he manages to find a potential romance with Laurel Thomas as they go for a drink together. Teasing what's to come, Joe shared: "He sees a family. He sees her with her kids, and sees a family life that he never had. He was adopted very early on by Celia. "We see in episodes later when I talk to Bear, we see little hints of his life has been like. So I think, for me, Laurel is kind of a woman who has a business and a family and children who are not babies. "She lives in a nice house, I think it's attractive to Ray in lots of different ways." When asked if he's looking forward to villagers learning what Ray's been up to, Joe added: "I'm intrigued, because April is a Dingle and that has all that weight... Eventually that leads to scenes with Cain, where Cain starts to go 'what's happening'? "People start twigging that this isn't just a mother and son, these people are bad news and strange things are afoot." Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
