The long-running mystery surrounding the death of Emmerdale's villainous Ray Walters is finally set to be solved in a special week of episodes airing from January 19, 2026. The drug-dealing and people-trafficking criminal, portrayed by Joe Absolom, met his end after a reign of terror in the Yorkshire village, leaving multiple residents with a motive for murder.
Three Prime Suspects Under the Spotlight
This week's unique narrative structure will turn back the clock to explore the perspectives of three main suspects in the lead-up to Ray's demise. The episodes will focus on Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), each of whom had compelling reasons to want Ray gone.
Laurel, the village's usually gentle resident, was perhaps the most personally betrayed. After falling for Ray, she was horrified to learn from teenager Dylan Penders that he was coercing youths into drug dealing. Her final confrontation saw her screaming at him to leave her property, terrified for her children's safety. With her son Arthur enraged and her friend Nicola King urging her to set a trap, Laurel's breaking point could have had fatal consequences.
Desperate Motives: Protection and Rage
For Rhona and Marlon, the motive was their daughter, April Windsor. Ray and his partner Celia Daniels had dragged April into their drug trafficking ring. When the parents confronted him, Ray cruelly extorted £2,000 per week to leave April alone. Rhona's episode shows her in despair at home after April's disappearance, with a shocking shadowy figure appearing behind her. Marlon's last encounter saw Ray throw him to the ground and sneer that his 'little girl was gone forever', pushing the typically peaceful chef to his absolute limit.
The criminal saga reached a peak when Ray himself killed his adoptive mother and partner in crime, Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths). In Thursday's climactic episode, viewers will see Ray's final moments as he stands over Celia's body in shock, wiping his fingerprints from the knife and preparing to dispose of her body. His grief compounds when he discovers Celia has also killed his father figure, Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards).
The Shocking Final Twist
However, a wildcard suspect emerges: Laurel's son, Arthur Thomas. Consumed by rage over the pain Ray caused his mother, Arthur snatches the criminal's distinctive red sports bag. Laurel is aghast when Arthur returns with the stolen holdall, which contains drugs, leading to a tense confrontation. The question of whether the young boy played a part in Ray's ultimate fate adds a final layer of suspense to the revelation.
This special week of storytelling, which originally aired in January 2026, promises to deliver the answers Emmerdale fans have been waiting for, uncovering which Dales resident finally ended the reign of one of the soap's most despicable villains.
