Emmerdale‘s newest supervillain Celia Daniels spots a worrying red flag this evening, as her son Ray Walters lies to her about his whereabouts. Is this the first sign that he could pull away from her in the long term?

Celia is currently masterminding criminal activity in the village and the wider area – manipulating local teens April Windsor and Dylan Penders as she runs a drugs and sex exploitation operation. So far, Ray has done most of the dirty work in trying to keep the young couple on side.

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In tonight’s episode, though, Ray’s attention shifts elsewhere as he starts to pursue his new-found romantic chemistry with Laurel Thomas, who’s oblivious to his sinister activities.

The unlikely duo continue to bond when Ray finds Laurel at the grave of her late husband Ashley, on what would have been their 20-year wedding anniversary.

Clearly comforted by Ray’s companionship, Laurel invites him back to Mulberry Cottage for a cuppa and extended chat.

When Marlon Dingle and Rhona Goskirk also visit, it’s a chance for Ray to get to know more of the locals better. The trio share some jokes at Celia’s expense over her “scary” reputation, creating an awkward atmosphere when Ray drops the bombshell that she’s his mum.

Despite this blunder, though, Ray’s getting-to-know-you session appears to go well.

As Ray later leaves Laurel’s place, concerned Celia watches from afar and quickly tests him by phoning and firing questions over his whereabouts.

Ray lies that he’s on a job in Hotten, leaving Celia visibly unsettled that he’d be so brazenly dishonest… Is she starting to lose her influence over him?

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine yesterday, Joe Absolom – who plays Ray – spoke about whether we could see another side to his character soon.

“I think because it’s a soap and because you get to do so much, because we film so much, we get to tell a lot more about each character,” he explained.

“So there is a different side to Ray. He meets Laurel, who runs The Hide, and he finds a relationship with her that is blossoming and hopefully very good.

“You will see a different side, yeah. [But] it’s quite good to be evil!”