Emmerdale Full Episode | Tuesday 23rd December – Preview

As Emmerdale barrels toward Christmas with its trademark intensity, Tuesday’s episode promises to be one of the most emotionally charged and dangerous chapters yet. Long-simmering tensions explode, old ghosts crawl back into the light, and the fragile peace surrounding Robron is shattered once again. At the center of the storm stand Aaron Dingle, Robert Sugden, Ross Barton—and a far more sinister figure lurking in the shadows, ready to tear everything apart.

Aaron and Robert have survived more than most couples in the Dales. Betrayals, prison walls, family feuds, and buried secrets have tested their bond repeatedly. Yet just when it seems they might finally find stability, a new obstacle emerges—one that cuts deeper than any feud. Their decision to contact Angela Reynolds, hoping to rebuild a connection with Robert’s son Seb, ignites a confrontation that quickly spirals out of control.

Ross Barton wastes no time in confronting them. Storming into the house, he demands answers, furious that Aaron and Robert have involved Angela behind his back. Ross reminds Robert—brutally—that he willingly signed the transfer agreement giving up his parental rights. In Ross’s eyes, this sudden interest isn’t about Seb’s wellbeing at all; it’s about Robert’s unresolved guilt and Aaron’s need to fix what was broken.

“This isn’t about Seb,” Ross snaps. “It’s about you.” His words land like a punch. Ross insists that if they truly care about the child, they should leave him alone before storming out, leaving devastation in his wake.

The fallout is immediate. Robert, shaken and visibly broken, begins to doubt himself. Watching him wrestle with the pain of losing his son is agonizing—his anger masking profound grief. Aaron, sensing something more personal behind Ross’s rage, follows him outside. Their confrontation is explosive. Ross accuses them of interfering out of boredom, of playing with Seb’s life without understanding the consequences. Aaron pushes back, but the damage is already done.

Moments later, paranoia creeps in. Aaron makes a phone call to Robert, unaware that someone is watching from the bushes nearby. As he heads to his car, he discovers the windshield smashed. Furious and frightened, Aaron immediately accuses Ross, convinced the attack is a warning.

Meanwhile, Ross confides in his brother Lewis, revealing the emotional cost of giving up Seb. He admits it was the hardest decision of his life and that the guilt still consumes him—not just toward Seb, but toward Rebecca White as well. When Aaron confronts him again, Ross denies vandalizing the car. The argument turns vicious, with insults flying until Ross issues a chilling warning: if Aaron speaks to him like that again, he’ll do far worse than smash a windshield.

Back at the flat, Robert surveys the damage and comes to a swift conclusion—Ross is responsible. Fueled by rage and desperation, he begins plotting revenge, convinced Ross is deliberately sabotaging any chance of reconnecting with Seb. What Robert doesn’t know is that Ross is innocent.

The true culprit is far more dangerous.

Kevin Townsend—the man Robert married in prison, the ex-husband he thought he had escaped forever—is back in the village. Earlier in the year, Kevin shocked viewers when his secret marriage to Robert was revealed, along with his violent instability. After attacking Robert and fleeing the village, Kevin seemed gone for good. But now, he has returned, and his intentions are far darker than simple jealousy.

As night falls, tension thickens inside Aaron and Robert’s apartment. Robert fixates on Ross, convinced he’s the enemy. Aaron, however, begins to doubt the narrative. Ross may be volatile, but something about this feels wrong. Robert refuses to listen, already setting his plan in motion.

The next morning, Robert secretly contacts old criminal associates, fabricating evidence to frame Ross for a major auto parts theft at the garage. His logic is chillingly pragmatic: if Ross is tied up with the police, he can’t interfere with Seb. Robert convinces himself this is protection, not revenge.

Unbeknownst to him, Kevin watches everything unfold from the shadows. From behind dense bushes near the garage, Kevin films Robert handing over money, a pale, satisfied smile creeping across his face. He whispers to himself that Robert is tearing his own life apart—and Kevin is happy to help.

While Robert descends deeper into obsession, Aaron begins to feel truly unsettled. His fears are confirmed when an envelope appears on their doorstep. Inside is a wedding photograph of Robert and Kevin from prison—an image Robert believed destroyed. The past Aaron tried so hard to ignore crashes back into his present.

The psychological torment escalates. At the factory, Aaron receives a funeral wreath. The attached card reads: “For what is dead and what is ending. Goodbye, my dear husband.” Panic sets in as Aaron tries calling Robert, but there’s no answer. Alone and terrified, he realizes Ross may not be the real threat after all.

That fear is validated when Ross himself storms into the factory, bruised and furious. The police have raided his house. He’s been set up. Ross is convinced Robert is behind it and accuses him of trying to steal Seb by getting him jailed. The confrontation turns violent, nearly erupting into a fight, until they discover something even more disturbing.

All of Robert’s carefully staged files—his supposed evidence—have been shredded. Scrawled in red paint across the wall are the words: “Family never belongs to a traitor.”

The truth finally snaps into focus. Kevin isn’t just back—he’s orchestrating everything. While Robert and Ross destroy each other, Kevin tightens his grip. He begins sending anonymous messages to Angela Reynolds, posing as an investigator and feeding her fabricated evidence of Robert’s violent past. Any hope of reuniting with Seb slips further away.

The drama reaches its terrifying climax on a night of torrential rain. Robert receives a call from an unknown number. Kevin’s voice is calm, mocking. He claims to be with Seb. Without thinking, Robert races into the storm, ignoring Aaron’s pleas to stop. Fearing the worst, Aaron tracks Robert’s phone and calls Cain Dingle for help.

The trail leads to an abandoned house on the edge of the village. Seb isn’t there—it’s a trap. Kevin waits inside, knife in hand, his obsession laid bare. He accuses Robert of abandoning him, of replacing him, of erasing their shared darkness. A violent struggle erupts, brutal and desperate.

When Kevin strikes Aaron, something snaps in Robert. Fueled by terror and love, he overpowers Kevin just as the police arrive. Kevin is arrested, laughing maniacally, insisting this is far from over. His final revelation is devastating: Angela fears Robert now because Kevin made sure she would.

Though Kevin is gone, the damage is irreversible. Ross is cleared, but his relationship with Robert is beyond repair. To protect Seb, Ross decides to leave, taking the boy somewhere Robert can never reach.

As Ross’s car disappears down the road, Robert stands frozen on his porch. He has survived Kevin. He has saved Aaron. But in the process, he may have lost his son forever—making this victory feel more like a life sentence than a triumph.