Emmerdale aired a shocking cliffhanger involving Laurel and Arthur Thomas, with the pair being involved in a heated argument. Much of their disagreements have come over the legacy of Ray Walters, but how will the pair cope after the latest exchange?

The mother-son duo have had a rocky time lately following the various revelations about Ray, whom Laurel had been seeing for a brief time before his criminality came to light in the Dales.

Following his death, Laurel has had mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was repulsed by his actions, but equally had some sympathy for his traumatic background. This has riled Arthur, with Laurel striking her son during an argument.

Earlier this week, Laurel was still torn over her opinion of Ray, and confided to Charles Anderson that she would feel sorry for the late criminal if nobody was to attend his funeral. Unsurprisingly, this stance has proved controversial.

Tonight’s episode of the ITV soap began with Laurel discussing her conflicted emotions with Nicola, before she informed Arthur that she had visited Ray at the chapel of rest alongside Bear.

Though his immediate reaction was shown off-screen, Arthur couldn’t hide his disappointment when speaking to Gabby. Though she said their mother had “made mistakes”, she said she wasn’t a “bad person”.

Laurel headed to the Dingles to apologise to Paddy, but instead found Bear drinking on his own. In a candid conversation, Bear shared that he was “haunted” by the memory of killing Ray, though Laurel assured him that his family cared for him.

She bumped into Paddy and Mandy in the village, and apologised for her actions. Paddy followed suit, and apologised for his own words.

Unbeknownst to them, Arthur was watching the conversation unfold, and he accused his mother of “poking her nose” into other people’s business. He said his mother had “ruined everything”, and this is where Laurel responded.

She described her son as “rude and selfish”, adding that she was struggling to “like” him in the current moment. As Arthur attempted to leave the conversation, he shoved his mother to the floor, and she lay unconscious after hitting her head on the stairs.

In next week’s scenes, it has already been confirmed that Laurel will attempt to cover for Arthur despite exhibiting signs of an injury, but one character will suspect that something far more sinister happened than a simple slip down the stairs…