CRAIG Reed has been thriving on Lydia Dingle's fear and silence after raping her.
Things change next week as the fan favourite played by Karen Blick finally finds a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear in Emmerdale.
ITV viewers have been hoping for Lydia Dingle to find an ally in the aftermath of her horrific rape and, thankfully, Kim Tate will be the one stepping up to help her.
While she's known for her ruthless and sometimes unforgiving nature, the businesswoman portrayed by Claire King has a soft spot for her employee.
She has also been known to counsel those who need advice as she has done in the past for Mary Goskirk.
But how will she manage to get through to Lydia next week?
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Coming up, reconnecting with Craig (Ben Addis) at his offices, Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) asks questions about why he was let go from his work experience.
Craig uses this opportunity to manipulate the story to suit his fabricated version of events, which soon leads the lad to believe something has happened between the CEO and his stepmother Lydia.
The entrepreneur is grimly satisfied to have manipulated Samson as he welcomes him back to his work experience.
Speaking too loudly and too openly on the phone to Cathy Hope (Gabrielle Dowling) outside the Dingles', Samson is overheard by Mandy (Lisa Riley), and she confronts him about what’s going on with Lydia and Craig.
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Believing from Samson that Lydia and Craig may have been having an affair, Mandy’s determined to find out the truth.
The following day, Lydia is horrified when an upset Mandy confronts her and asks if she’s been having an affair with Craig.
Angry and upset, Lydia rushes from the home in a panic after shutting down worried but unconvinced Mandy’s accusations.
Later on, Kim is alarmed to see Lydia sobbing and, unable to withstand Craig's lies, the cleaner finally reveals what happened to her.
Realising her life has changed forever, Lydia’s heartbroken when Kim eventually tells her she’ll need to tell Sam about the rape.
But will Kim's pleading get through to Lydia?
Craig has been trying to discredit Lydia since the attack, insisting she had given him consent before he forced himself on her.
Lydia tried to report the assault to the police but backtracked out of fear.
As mentioned above, fans of the Yorkshire-based drama have been eager to see Kim get involved in Lydia's ordeal as they suspect she could take murderous revenge, one of her many talents.
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But how much more damage will Craig cause in Lydia's life before he can get comeuppance?
Emmerdale airs weeknights from 7.30pm on ITV.
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