Emmerdale summer spoilers: Dylan returns, Aidan 'wakes up' and sad Bear twist

There's huge moments ahead on , with soap boss Laura Shaw teasing some big twists ahead into summer and beyond.

The soap's producer spilled to The and other press that some big storylines were ahead, as existing twists continue too. We've got the whodunnit with Joe Tate and the explosive fallout to this, with next week teasing a shocking death.

There's also the moment Nate Robinson's murder could finally come to light, months after John Sugden accidentally ended his life before covering up the crime. We're also set to see John's lies unravel and his dark actions escalate ahead of his wedding to Aaron Dingle, with someone possibly about to expose him.

It’s safe to say there’s some big surprises in store for our village favourites and for some characters who haven’t had a big storyline in a while. There’s two big plots on the way shrouded in mystery, one says to be life changing.

Another character is set to "go missing" before their return will no doubt spark confusion with fans as there’s a huge personality shift. Here are the biggest plots ahead this summer and beyond.

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Joe Tate whodunnit

Someone takes a brutal revenge on Joe Tate in upcoming scenes, as several residents decide to take action. His lies and his dark crimes finally come to light, setting the scene for a dramatic twist.

More than one character wants payback after they all find out about his affair with Dawn Taylor, him drugging Noah Dingle and causing the limo crash and him stealing Caleb Miligan's kidney. By the end of the week someone will take their revenge.

Laura spilled on what fans can expect from this storyline and the villain's future: "It's brilliant. It's all about who pushed Joe Tate. As soon as Joe arrived on the show he got quite a few enemies straight away.

"What we will see in the run-up is he manages to get quite a few more enemies as well. By the time the episode airs, that list runs and runs. We've got this lavish birthday party that's been arranged for Lydia.

"There's lots of people and lots of daggers drawn. A lot of people are looking at Joe Tate and want him dead. I can tell you that one person definitely will be getting their revenge on Joe Tate.

"Will they succeed with their murderous act? We'll have to wait and see. There's a little bit of a homage to the who killed Tom King storyline in there, a couple of little in there."

John exposed as Nate found and Aidan wakes from his coma?

John Sugden's wedding to Aaron Dingle is coming up, but two key secrets could see him exposed before he gets to say 'I do'. John has managed to orchestrate a number of situations in the village to get his own way.

With hints he was behind whatever happened to his ex-fiancé Aidan Moore who remains in a coma in hospital, he's also the person who caused Chas Dingle's overdose, Liam Cavanagh's attack and Jacob Gallagher's allergic reaction.

John also framed Ella Forster for a number of crimes, and he's yet to reveal where he buried the body of Anthony Fox. Laura has hinted it’s all systems go as the threat of both Nate's body being found and Aidan waking from his coma very soon hang over John.

Viewers know that Nate seemingly fled to Shetland in September, before cutting off all contact with his family. But then in February his body was shown wrapped in sheeting and chained in a lake.

Just last month we finally found out John had killed Nate by accident, with him trying to play the hero only to murder him. John dumped Nate's body in a river, with it soon moving to the lake where it currently remains.

But the death will finally come out soon amid his loved ones being confused over his lack of contact. With his family thinking he has disowned them all including his daughter Frankie, an incident involving the lake seems to pave the way for a grim discovery.

As for Aidan, Laura teased he wouldn’t be in a coma for much longer - but does he wake up and what might he reveal? Laura told us: "There's a wedding coming up, and that is Aaron and John. I've just signed off those episodes and they are very brilliant and very exciting.

"John is full of trepidation heading into the wedding, worrying about what secrets might get exposed along the way. The wedding plays out across a whole week but as one day. We've got stylistic fun in there with some of John's nightmares.

"We see potential things that might happen. We've also got Aidan in a coma and I can tell you he's absolutely not gonna be in that coma forever. So is he gonna wake up? If he does, what secrets can he come back with? Is he gonna walk in and spoil the wedding?"

On the Nate body twist she added: "We know Nate's body is still in that lake and again, I can reveal that Nate is not gonna stay in that lake forever. So when John finds out the lake is being dredged and he knows the body is gonna come up, will he make it to his vows?

"Is he gonna be arrested? It's all going on and it's gonna be good, with Nate and Aidan both threatening to ruin the day for John and putting everything with Aaron at risk, what lengths is John gonna be pushed to to avoid that happening?"

Life-changing Mackenzie and Aaron plot

Amid the drama surrounding killer John, we could finally find out the context behind Mack’s flashforward clip that has sparked a number of theories. The clip from December that shows Mack fleeing through the woods has yet to air or be explained.

But this is going to air, Laura has confirmed, while she’s also teased a massive and life-changing summer/autumn storyline for Mack and Aaron. She teased: "We've got big stuff coming up for Aaron and Mackenzie towards the end of summer into autumn.

"We've got a big week of episodes planned for then. It's gonna be life changing for those two. We've still got that flashforward from , we've not forgotten about it. Might that happen there? We shall see.

"We are actually in the process of building a new set for that week and I've read the first drafts of the scripts and I have to say it's some of the most exciting and gripping episodes that I've read in a long time. I can't wait to see what happens with that."

A return and new arrivals

There’s also an epic return on the way as well as some new additions jointing the show. Fans will be thrilled to learn Dylan is returning to the village to cause drama for April Windsor.

Fred Kettle will be reprising his role as the troubled teen after proving a hit with fans earlier this year. He’s not alone it seems though as Laura had revealed some new cast members will join as part of Dylan’s plot.

Laura spilled to us: "The lovely Fred Kettle who played Dylan is coming back to the show. He is gonna be bringing his past back to the village with him and that's going to cause huge problems for April and the family there. We've got a couple of exciting new castings who are gonna be joining us for that story, but I can't tell you who they are yet but watch this space. It's very exciting."

Laura also teased the arrival of Ross Barton's secret brother Lewis Barton, played by actor Bradley Riches. She revealed: "Bradley Riches has joined the show. I'm very excited about that. This character was definitely created just for Bradley. I'm dead excited to see what chaos Lewis gonna bring to Ross' life."

Bear mystery

Laura has also teased Paddy Kirk’s father Bear will take centre stage in a worrying new storyline that sees him disappear for a period of time. When he returns to the village it’s clear something has gone on, as the village resident is acting out of character and is not the man he was.

Details are being kept under wraps for the time being, but fans will be left questioning what has happened. Laura said: "Coming up this summer and into autumn, the character of Bear has a big story coming up for him. He is going to go offscreen for a little while.

"He goes missing and when he comes back, what you'll see is a very different Bear in a really different situation. We're all going to be watching and going, 'what the hell has happened here', that's really exciting."

Sarah Sugden plot

There’s big stuff for Sarah Sugden on the way in the fallout to her love triangle with Jacob Gallagher and newcomer Kammy. In a latest twist we’ve learned Sarah wants to have a child, and now Laura has teased huge scenes ahead for the character across the next year.

She spilled: "We have seen Sarah deciding she wants to have a baby. That's going to be a big story over the next 12 months or so. It is going to have lots of twists and turns, and is gonna cause some big ruptures in the whole family."

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on , , , , , and .