Ray and Celia laid bare in Emmerdale but it may be far too late for Bear

In 2025, two new faces arrived in Emmerdale, who ended up inflicting nothing but misery on a number of residents for months on end.

Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) and Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) were eventually revealed to be a mother and son duo running a criminal operation from their farm.

Together, they were responsible for manipulating young people into dealing drugs, taking part in sex work, trafficking vulnerable adults, and also making plenty of them work as slaves.

One of these slaves was revealed to be Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards), who was found by Ray at a time when he felt as though his family didn’t want him around.

The troubled old man was made to live in a dark and dingy attic alongside other adults. Due to the abuse he suffered though, Bear spent a very long time believing Ray and Celia weren’t actually doing anything wrong.

It was at the start of this year that everything changed for Bear, as he managed to escape the farm and return to the village. When he entered Tenants, he found Ray threatening to kill Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt). Deeply traumatised and not really aware of what he was doing, Bear grabbed Ray and squeezed his neck so hard, he died.

Paddy and Dylan chose to try and cover up the murder in order to prevent Bear from going to prison. It happened right in the middle of DS Walsh (Amanda Ryan) investigating Celia and Ray’s reign over the village though, which meant it eventually became impossible to keep quiet.

The trio are up in court next week. For Bear, he will be questioned about murdering Ray, the aftermath that followed, and being a victim of modern day slavery.

Paddy will be taking to the stand after peverting the course of justice. This is also the case for Dylan, but he will also be asked about the drug dealing he was forced into doing by Ray and Celia.

As if it wasn’t complex enough, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) will be summoned to give evidence, also a victim of the horror created by Ray and Celia.

As the trial kicks off, the defence and prosecution barristers argue over their cases in front of the judge, jury and spectators.

Bear feels overwhelmed when he’s forced to relive Ray’s death and his experience on the farm. Things get even more tense when April steps up and testifies, but struggles under the cross examination, leaving her devastated.

Before long, it’s Dylan who testifies for the defence. He recounts how Bear saved his and Paddy’s lives from Ray, but will it be enough?

In the courtroom, fellow victim Simo takes to the stand and Bear spirals after hearing what he has to say. After court adjourns, Zara the solicitor explains the situation and says they don’t have any choice but to put Bear on the stand tomorrow.

As the day begins, Paddy and the family arrive at court before Bear’s testimony. He will make or brake the case – but how will the tense scenes play out?

Will Bear’s comments end up freeing the trio, or sending them to prison?

Emmerdale‘s Bear Wolf is currently being exploited by evil Celia Daniels and Ray Walters, who have trapped him in a modern slavery situation, with Ray manipulating him into believing that things would be worse for him if he left.

But actor Joshua Richards has teased that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel for his character.

When asked if Bear will ever be the same after his horrific ordeal, he said: “Yes of course he will because it’s soap, darling! We all bounce back.”

While there’s hope for the long term future, at the moment Bear doesn’t actually want to get out of his situation.

Next week’s scenes will see Bear’s fellow captives Mick and Simo tell him that they’ve worked out an escape plan, but he’s not keen on the idea.

“I don’t think he wants to leave at all in the first place,” Richards added. “I think he just doesn’t want to upset anybody, but wants to go along with them.”

A lot of it is down to the way that charismatic Ray has brainwashed him, with the actor stating: “A lot of it is pointing out that ‘sometimes your previous life was absolutely dreadful’, ‘aren’t things better now because you can trust me?’ It’s like giving a dog treats.

“It’s very clever manipulation. It’s very insidious. You can bit by bit instill in somebody that you are needed by them for their very existence, Ray is very successful at doing that because he has a natural charm and an ability to do get under people’s skin.”

However, scenes that have already aired and ones set for next week showcase that Ray actually has a conscience, and that’s something Bear notices.

“He can see there is something inside Ray,” Richards said. Could that be Bear’s way out of this?