The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.
Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) are back in Emmerdale from their latest break, and they’re making big plans for the future as they try to put their recent turbulent past behind them.
Robert has already moved his stuff into Aaron’s flat, and in Monday (December 22)’s episode he decided that it was time he got to know his long-lost son, Seb.
Sebastian White currently lives in Bristol with his aunt, following the death of his mother Rebecca White in 2024. Prior to Rebecca’s death, Seb had been living with her and her then partner, Ross Barton (Mike Parr). The boy also visited Robert and Aaron regularly. When Robert was sent to prison, Rebecca felt it was best to cut of ties with Emmerdale completely, meaning that Robert hasn’t seen his son in a number of years.
Ross was furious to hear from Seb’s Aunt Angela that Robert had been in touch about seeing the boy. He told Aaron and Robert that he’d been more of a dad to Seb than Robert ever had and he’d advised Angela not to let Robert anywhere near him.
Seb deserved a quiet life, he said – which wasn’t something Robert and Aaron could offer him. ‘How many psycho husbands have tried to kill you both lately?’ he reminded them, and he has a point. No sooner had they recovered from Aaron being dragged off a cliff by his husband, deranged medic John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) than they were having to deal with Robert’s secret prison husband Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill).
Aaron tried to reason with Ross in his own special way later, but Ross wasn’t budging. So when Aaron discovered his car windscreen had been smashed, he was pretty certain that Ross had done it.
Later, Ross opened up to Lewis (Bradley Riches) about his deep feelings for Seb. He said that giving him up had felt like he was letting Rebecca down, so he’s determined to do the right thing by him now.
They were interrupted by a raging Aaron who accused Ross of vandalising his car – which Ross denied.
There was better news for Robert later when, in a phone call with Angela, she agreed to meet him and Aaron to talk about what was best for Seb. All they need to do now is prove that they can offer Seb a calm and stress-free environment if he visits.
Can’t wait for the next twist?
Hi, I’m Calli Kitson, Soaps reporter at Metro. I cover Emmerdale, EastEnders, Corrie and more.
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That is looking unlikely, though, because right at the end of the episode we discovered who smashed up Aaron’s car and it was a person who certainly doesn’t list ‘calm’ and ‘stress free’ among his many dubious qualities.
It was Kev – lurking behind a tree and watching Robert and Aaron heading into the Woolpack together. And he didn’t look happy.
All this is leading up to a very tense Christmas for Aaron and Robert. Robert rushes off on a mystery errand on Christmas Day, but when he fails to return Aaron and Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) get seriously worried.
What is Kev planning?
