Emmerdale‘s Laurel Thomas is left fighting for her life next week, after being attacked by her own son. Arthur’s anger spirals out of control during a showdown with his mum over her attending Ray Walters’ funeral.

When things get heated, has Arthur accidentally killed his own mother? And just how honest will he be over what’s happened?

Tensions mount between mother and son with Ray’s burial looming, which reignites the nightmare he put them through at the start of the year.

Nobody in the village is clamouring to pay their respects and give the gangster a decent send-off, but Laurel finds herself feeling surprisingly conflicted.

Traumatised Bear Wolf is also hoping to find some sort of closure in seeing Ray buried, and ends up accompanying Laurel to the funeral – much to Paddy Dingle’s horror.

Somebody who’s definitely pleased to see the back of Ray is Arthur, who is raging when he learns his mum said a final goodbye to the man who caused such misery to so many.

Confronting Laurel at home after the service, he demands to know why she’s bothering to grieve Ray.

Their row erupts, and while Laurel tries to stay calm and understand why Arthur is so upset, she’s horrified as the situation turns violent…

“He pushes Laurel,” reveals Charlotte Bellamy, who plays the village favourite. “She accidentally falls down the stairs and hits her head really badly, and is concussed.”

As Laurel ends up in hospital, will Arthur’s secret be exposed?

“This story is about how much a parent protects their child,” continues Charlotte. “She doesn’t want people to think the worst of Arthur – if she reveals what happened, everyone would think he was awful. Do I think she would cover for him? A thousand per cent, yes…”

Having already physically lashed out at her boy in a moment of madness, will Laurel hide his accidental assault? And if she does, will Arthur’s violent streak continue to grow, putting her and the rest of their family at risk?