Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale star Charlotte Bellamy has teased that there will be devastating consequences for her character, Laurel Thomas, when the truth about her love interest Ray Walters is eventually exposed.

Laurel has been charmed by the mysterious Ray, and the pair have recently started a romance. But what Laurel doesn’t know is that Ray is working under his evil adoptive mum Celia on a horrific criminal operation involving drug dealing and human slavery.

In this week’s gripping episodes, Marlon and Rhona were trapped by deadly threats after discovering what April has been subjected to, while Dylan was left in a coma when Ray ran him over for exposing the truth to Marlon.

But within this horror, Laurel remains oblivious to just how dangerous Ray can be and welcomes him into his house, potentially even seeing a future with him.

Speaking exclusively to us at Inside Soap about her character’s worrying new relationship, Charlotte explained: “Ray’s phone is always going off and Laurel’s like, ‘Hang on…’, but it’s only fleeting because she’s so mesmerised by him.

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“When you meet someone, why would you question anything? You just believe what you’re told. When it eventually all comes out, it’ll be devastating. Laurel will have to accept that she has fallen for an absolute monster.”

Ray’s actions are only the tip of the iceberg, as he is under strict orders from Celia – and Charlotte has said that things are only going to get darker as Christmas approaches.

“Celia is in a completely different league, she’s probably the worst, most dangerous villain we’ve ever had,” she said. “The levels that she and Ray go to, you won’t believe what happens. Oh my gosh, it’s so horrendous.”

Charlotte and her current co-star Joe Absolom have another soap in common, as they both starred in EastEnders back in the 1990s. Joe starred as Matthew Rose and Charlotte played Sue Taylor, though their paths never crossed on Albert Square.

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“I did EastEnders before Joe, when I was 20, I think. Joe was so good in it, I remember watching him and he was brilliant,” Charlotte recalled. “[It] was the soap that I watched as I was in London; it’s weird now that I’m working with Joe, as I remember Matthew Rose really clearly!”

To read the full exclusive chat with Charlotte about what’s coming up for Laurel over the festive season, pick up our double Christmas issue – available to buy from Tuesday 9 December.