Emmerdale spoilers follow from Wednesday’s episode (17 December).

Emmerdale’s Celia Daniels has taken her cruelty towards her son Ray Walters up a notch, getting physically abusive in new scenes. In tonight’s episode, Ray saw his chances with Laurel Thomas ruined in Celia’s next move in her plan to keep her son under her thumb. A cheerful Laurel told Ray she intended to impress his mum who would be coming over for dinner at Mulberry Cottage. Ray was taken aback as he barely hid his discomfort.

At dinner, Celia started grilling Laurel, going straight in with the big questions about her romance with Ray.

“Why do you like my son?” Celia asked as Laurel chuckled uncomfortably.

She explained Ray was “very kind” to her and made her laugh. “When I’m with him, he just makes me feel good. Happier,” Laurel said, adding Ray was “a real hit” with her children too.

The revelation that Ray had met Laurel’s kids upset Celia, who couldn’t wait to sabotage the relationship with a mean trick.

Advertisement – Continue Reading Below

Related: Best streaming services

“I can see why she’s such a distraction for you,” Celia told her son once they were alone.

As Laurel returned with dessert while Ray was off to the bathroom, Celia took the opportunity to strike. She told Laurel that Ray had been with many women and had been “off and on” with his last girlfriend.

“Are you saying he’s a bit of a player?” an alarmed Laurel asked.

“To be honest, yes,” Celia lied.

“I’ve had to have a word about people not being playthings. I was hoping he was past it, but… I have hoped for that before,” she then said. “I am hoping he’ll behave for you because you are very sweet.”

After Celia left, Laurel mulled over what Celia had said and began acting cold towards Ray. She asked him to go as he realised Celia must’ve meddled and warn Laurel off him.

“She is a liar. She always lies!” he yelled as Laurel asked him not to raise his voice and insisted he should go.

A furious Ray headed for Celia’s farm as Rhona Goskirk spotted him and checked on Laurel. While Rhona kept quiet about Ray exploiting teens April Windsor and Dylan Penders and blackmailing her and Marlon Dingle, she made sure that Laurel knew something was off.

“He has this arrogance about him,” Rhona said as Laurel pondered whether she should trust her instincts and walk away.

At the farm, Celia berated Ray for being away with Laurel while the water pump broke.

Related: Emmerdale village tour

Questioning her son’s feelings for someone as “wet” and “boring” as Laurel, Celia was stunned when Ray replied: “She’s worth a million of you.”

When Ray said Laurel could be his chance at happiness, Celia cruelly mocked him and slapped him.

“You need someone to keep you real, someone who’ll stop you drifting off into these fantasies of yours,” Celia said, as she held Ray’s face and continued humiliating him.

“You are weak, Ray. You are so weak you need someone to tell you when to speak, how to feel, how to exist,” she said. “And aren’t you lucky that I’m still here, doing exactly that?”

Celia left a weeping Ray in despair.

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage