Five explosive ITV Emmerdale theories: Heath Hope’s death FINALLY explained, new love and shock confession

GRIEF has taken hold of the Hope family with patriarch Bob unable to believe in his daughter Cathy's innocence.

The tragedy reopens forgotten wounds this week in Emmerdale while another resident's own downward spiral begins.

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1. Charity comes clean

Saving Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) from Harry's clutches required a sacrifice Charity Dingle had no idea would entail inner torment... and a potential stay in prison.

As ITV viewers will remember, the Woolpack landlady portrayed by Emma Atkins shot the criminal dead during the Christmas season.

Luckily for her, her cousin Chas (Lucy Pargeter) already knew about Harry's evil ways as he recently also kidnapped her, holding her captive to teach her brothers Cain Dingle and Caleb Milligan a lesson.

This prompted the bar manager to help Charity by elaborating a scheme, which led to Harry's death despite their best intentions.

In scenes airing this week on our screen, Charity gets news from the police about Harry's demise... and she now has to find a way to cope with the consequences of her actions.

DS Jones (Hayley Considine) pays her a visit next week with some good news to share - Harry’s death is ruled accidental by the authorities.

Mack is relieved, happy to know his wife is off the hook.

Meanwhile, Charity, despite hiding it, is really struggling - but how will she react to the news?

One could suggest that Charity may go for the obvious route and confess her crime to someone close to her, or even to the authorities, unable to face the reality of taking a life.

However, one viewer of the Yorkshire-based drama has speculated that Charity may actually pay for her actions in another way, which would also land Mackenzie and Chas in trouble.

"I think that’s gonna come back to bite Mack, Chas and Charity at some point as Harry was dangerously connected to people", the soap fan commented on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Harry aka Damon Harris' daughter Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland) left the Dales shortly after his death, with her baby son Reuben in her arms, thus forcing Mackenzie to wave them both goodbye.

Chloe was, evidently, on the verge of a spat with Charity during her exit as the latter not only shot and killed her father but also triggered her separation with Mackenzie, a wound the fiery redhead already found hard to heal from.

Could Chloe try to get revenge from afar with the help of one of her father's crime partners?

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2. New romance rocks the Dales

Single life has been hard to handle for Chas Dingle, particularly as she tried to rekindle with her former husband Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt).

But when the village vet moved on from their marriage with another ex-flame, Mandy Dingle, Chas knew she had no other choice but to move on.

Chas won't have to wait too long to find a potential match and the new year brings her luck.

Coming up, Chas begins to bond with the charming Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) who is just as much of a free agent as her.

And when they realise they are both looking for love in the eponymous village, they end up kissing.

But will it really lead to more?

As regular viewers of the Yorkshire-based drama will recall, Chas continues to heal from the breakdown of her marriage and the loss of her lover Al Chapman.

Meanwhile, Liam Cavanagh has been just as pre-occupied with matters of the heart - and he's had his fair share of trouble relating to it.

Last year, Liam called time on his marriage with Leyla Harding, after her cocaine addiction spiralled out of control and he no longer felt like he was able to cope with her antics.

Following their separation, Liam became smitten with nurse Wendy Posner who shared his love of literature.

Their affair ended as quickly as it began with Bob Hope's health taking a bad turn when he found out his other half was canoodling with another man.

Wendy (Susan Cookson) is currently trying to support Bob following the tragic death of his son Heath - but could her attention shoot straight back to Liam once she finds out he is connecting with Chas?

Meanwhile, viewers of the long-running drama were recently convinced Chas would embark on another affair with local vicar Charles Anderson (Kevin Mathurin).

The pair seemed to have shared chemistry as Charles tried to help Chas fix her broken bond with her son Aaron.

Despite being involved with village GP Manpreet Sharma, could Charles feel envious once confronted with Chas and Liam's new romance?

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3. Tragic death explained

As mentioned above, Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) and his daughter Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling) have been shaken by tragedy after a joyride gone wrong led to Heath Hope's untimely death.

Troublesome Cathy was immediately blamed for the accident but once the police was able to question her, she claimed she hadn't been driving Wendy's stolen vehicle at the time of her twin brother's death.

She insisted that pal Angelica King (Rebecca Blakes) was responsible and fans of the long-running show have since been scratching their head, keen to figure out who killed Heath Hope.

Theories have since emerged and one of them points the finger at Mackenzie Boyd and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).

The pair of men have recently reconnected and are due to focus on their car-stealing enterprise again this week.

But on New Year's Day's Emmerdale instalment, they were driving around the village, much like Cathy, Heath and Angelica.

A comment was then made about a "close call" with another car, allowing viewers to consider them as potential suspects in Heath's death.

One viewer took to X, writing: "Why do I think Mack or Aaron might have inadvertently been involved in the Accident or even Nate as he was on the road at the time?"

"There’s more to this crash. Did Mack have some involvement?", another asked.

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4. Feud is reignited

The accident and Heath Hope's death has begun to cause a rift between both Hope and King families, as Cathy and Angelica continue to throw the blame on one another.

Soap producer Laura Shaw teased devastating changes to one of the clans as the aftermath of the drama unfolds in upcoming weeks.

But for Bob, it could also be a painful reminder of a past he has tried hard to make peace with - and it could lead him to take action against the Kings once pushed at his wit's end.

Diehard Emmerdale fans will remember that Bob's eldest child Dawn Hope also died in a gas explosion in 2006.

The Kings were blamed for the death of the 22-year-old, prompting Tom King to offer them £300k in compensation, which Bob refused.

While things between both families had calmed down in more recent years, could Heath's absence cause Bob to get revenge against the Kings?

Will the reignited feud ever be resolved?

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5. Another budding relationship

While fans are still talking about Heath's death in the hopes of getting to the truth, many others couldn't help but spot chemistry between two unexpected characters on New Year's Day.

Mary Goskirk (Louise Jameson) was heartbroken by her last partner Faye who turned out to be trying to scam her and just as the year was drawing to a close, she opened up to Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) about the many other obstacles 2023 had brought to her doorstep.

After making plans for the following week to share a bucket of wine, Suzy wished Mary the new year would be better than the last... for the both of them.

The interaction was enough to send soap fans into a frenzy as many speculated the two women could embark on a romantic relationship together.

"I'm here for Mary and Suzy. Great chemistry between them", one viewer penned.

"Wow there definitely was unexpected tension between Suzy & Mary in tonight's Emmerdale!", another echoed before adding: "Something more than friends could develop!? Mary kissing Vanessa wasn't ideal & not sure if Suzy is going to be right for Mary (she's a brill friend). Intrigued what's to follow!"

Will the spark grow into something more serious?

Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.