This article contains spoilers for the episode of Emmerdale that airs on Thursday January 22
We have spent almost three weeks wondering who finally finished off evil Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) in Emmerdale, and tonight we finally got the answer.
All this week, we have been treated to flashbacks to the events leading up to Ray’s murder, and now we finally know what really happened.
There were plenty of suspects in the frame, given how heinous Ray’s crimes were.
Alongside mum Celia Daniels, Ray pushed Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) into drug dealing, manipulated April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) into sex work, and forced Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) into slave labour.
As their operation began to fall apart, Celia instructed Ray to deal with April, while she dealt with Bear.
However, Ray didn’t have the heart to kill April, and instead paid her to run away.
In a shocking twist, it transpired that Celia never got round to ‘dealing with Bear’ either.
Fed up with being controlled by his mother and eager to start a new life with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), Ray stabbed Celia to death.
When he headed back to the farm, he saw Bear lying on the bed, and assumed the worst.
In tonight’s episode, Ray remained determined to flee the village and start fresh elsewhere, but it was never going to be easy.
With Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) ready to call the police, Ray threatened little Eve, leaving Paddy and Dylan in torment as they debated what to do.
Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) wasn’t willing to let Ray go without a fight either, and knocked him down before stealing his bag, hoping that would stop him from being able to leave.
There was further violence when Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) got his hands on Ray, having been updated on his crimes by Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry).
He very nearly succeeded in killing him, until he was interrupted by the one person he didn’t want to know he was alive: Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).
By the end of the episode, Ray was in Paddy’s living room, threatening harm to both him and Dylan.
It was then that they got the shock of their lives when Bear walked in, very much alive. Who saw that one coming?
While this was thrilling news for all of us, it was not so good for Ray…
You’ll have to watch the episode to find out exactly how things played out, but it ended with Ray dead, finally bringing his reign of terror to an end.
- Emmerdale Full Episode | Tuesday 27th January
- Emmerdale Today (26 January 2026) Secrets Resurface and Dangerous Truths Come Out
- Next week 26th to 30th January on Emmerdale Kim and Joe are faced with a ghost from the past, Paddy continues to protect Bear and Ruby comes to a horrific realisation.
- Bradley and Lisa React To Brand-New Emmerdale Trailer
- Emmerdale reveals yet another Bear Wolf twist after Ray Walters murder in ITVX release
- Today’s Emmerdale episode 23 jan 2026: Tensions Explode as Dark Secrets Push Everyone to the Edge
