Emmerdale to air 3 standalone special episodes
ITV soap Emmerdale is to air three special episodes this autumn, involving characters April and Marlon Dingle; Robert Sugden; and Paddy Kirk and his father Bear Wolf.
Emmerdale is to air three special episodes this autumn.
The ITV soap will broadcast a hat-trick of standalone episodes featuring key storylines in the coming weeks, including one that will see April Dingle (Amelia Flanagan) at the mercy of merciless drug dealers.
The episode will tell the story of her fragile and possibly broken relationship with her dad, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), who is desperate to get through to his daughter.
Emmerdale will also go behind bars to focus on Robert Sugden’s (Ryan Hawley) recent imprisonment, and whether his incarceration has changed him forever after he was jailed for six years.
What's more, Paddy Kirk will make the shocking discovery that his father Bear Wolf has disappeared.
He thought his dad had fled the village for a new life in Ireland with pals.
While Bear has been away from Emmerdale for three months, it soon becomes apparent that he didn't ever make it to Ireland.
A special episode will tell the story of the 100 missing days of Bear's life as viewers and Paddy learn where he has been.
This comes after Dominic recently admitted he would love to appear in the upcoming Emmerdale and Coronation Street crossover episode.
He wrote on X: "Lord..Please please please let me be in this story..If not, I’ll be popcorn at the ready anyway. Imagine the potential slanging matches, the affairs, the fights, the comedy, the tragedy..even just for that episode!! As a viewer I can’t wait, as a cast member I await the script [heart emoji] (sic)"
Dominic posted the message shortly after ITV announced plans to create a crossover of the soaps in January 2026.
The special episode will see characters from both shows "come together in a celebration of the soap genre".
In a statement, ITV explained: "For the first time in British soap history, the hour-long episode will see characters from both soaps come together in a celebration of the soap genre.
"To herald the beginning of the new scheduling pattern, both soaps will mark the occasion in spectacular style, as the combined production teams embark on an ambitious stunt that will have everlasting consequences for everyone involved.
"The distinctive worlds of Emmerdale and Coronation Street will merge for one night only in a ‘mash-up’ of our two favourite communities.
"The producers, scriptwriters and production teams have conceived an ingenious way of linking the two universes, but with characters then returning to the soaps they are renowned for inhabiting in Manchester and Yorkshire."
The drama on Emmerdale continues Friday at 7:30 PM on ITV1 and STV, or from 7:00 AM on ITVX and STV Player.
