6 Emmerdale spoilers for next week: Rhona meets Pierce's son and who buys the Woolpack?

Here are all your Emmerdale spoilers for 31st January – 4th February 2022.

Pierce's son comes to the village

Rhona is rocked by a reminder of the darkest chapter of her life - her marriage to rapist Pierce. The vexed vet thought she'd heard the last of her evil ex when he was banged up two years ago after murdering her lover Graham Foster, only to receive a letter telling her he's dying and he needs her help finding his estranged son Marcus so he can tell him the news.

Reluctantly, Rhona agrees to track him down, to the concern of best mate Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) who advises her not to get involved - so much so she sneakily arranges a meeting with Marcus, posing as Rhona, with the intention of telling him to get lost. However, Rho catches them and comes face-to-face with the son of her abuser - will she reveal his dad's tragic secret? And what is Marcus's history with poisonous Pierce?

Who buys the Woolpack?

Beloved local pub the Woolpack goes under the auction hammer, and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) is gutted to be losing the boozer she loved being landlady of for so long. Kim Tate (Claire King) is determined to add the place to her property portfolio, and the thought of her taking over upsets Chas even more.

Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) impulsively puts in an offer he clearly can't afford, and Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) is relieved when an anonymous online bidder goes higher and outdoes the Dingles to become the new owner. But who are they? All is revealed when the mysterious buyer asks to meet Chas and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) in person - is this Kim playing games, or has someone else snapped it up?

Dawn's ex returns

Another villager gets an unwelcome blast from the past this week. Remember Alex Moore (Liam Boyle), estranged father to Dawn's son Lucas? He rocked up around Christmas and unwittingly became part of mad Meena's machinations who set him up to make it look like he was trying kidnap his son.

He's back and desperate to defend himself in light of the revelations about Ms Jutla, but that's not all. What else is Alex after? And will it burst her happy wedding bubble as she counts down the days to her Valentine's Day nuptials? If Alex's visit doesn't, Meena's imminent return most certainly will…

Laurel discovers Jai's deceit

Shifty Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) can barely conceal his panic every time Laurel enters the room, as he struggles with his guilt at fraudulently using her name to take out a loan to pay off his mounting debts. He couldn't make it any more obvious he's hiding something if he tried.

Unfortunately he drops the ball and leaves some very incriminating paperwork in a folder lying around for Laurel to find, and when she noses through it she realises to her horror what her fella has done… Will she confront Jai for using her in his illegal activities? Can their relationship survive his deceit?

Elsewhere on Emmerdale

• Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) loves being the arm candy of suave businessman Al Chapman (Michael Wildman), even though everyone else in the village hates his guts. The unlikely romance gets serious this week when Al tells Kezza they should move in together, though dating Cain's son's grandma is surely just another way to annoy his arch-enemy. Is gullible Kerry heading for heartbreak, or could Al be serious about her?
• Al's son Ellis Chapman (Aaron Anthony) is also annoying the dastardly Dingle by continuing his forbidden fling with Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper), which Cain categorically disapproves of, though it looks like that union could be cut short soon. Some news via an unexpected phone call forces Ellis into a decision that affects his future - what does that mean for him and Belle?

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