After getting married in 2022, Billy and Dawn welcomed their son Evan in December 2023. Earlier this year, the couple received the emotional news that Evan had been diagnosed with leukaemia – marking the beginning of a big story for the residents of Home Farm.

In scenes set to air next week, Billy feels guilty about continuing to lie to Dawn over why Evan’s health had begun to deteriorate recently.

Evan had to be re-admitted to hospital after someone broke the “social bubble” at Home Farm and spread germs. The bubble was put in place to protect Evan from infection following his diagnosis.

It was Billy who was responsible for breaking the bubble after drowning his sorrows with Nate and then returning home drunk. But Kim decided to take the blame so Billy wouldn’t get backlash from Dawn.

Next week, Billy will finally confess to Dawn about Kim taking the rap for him. Will Dawn forgive her husband, and how will she feel about him and Kim lying to her for so long?

Speaking to Digital Spy and other media at an Emmerdale press event in April, show producer Laura Shaw opened up about the storyline.

“What we really wanted to show with this story is what a stress and strain a long-term illness like this can put on a family,” she said.

“What we’ll see is how the roles of Dawn and Billy are changed almost overnight and out of nowhere. We’ll see how Lucas and Clemmie are affected and the stress that it puts on those sibling dynamics.

“We’ll see how this affects Billy and Dawn’s relationship, the wider family in Kim and Will, and all of their friends. There’s also the financial pressure that looking after a child long-term like that can put on a whole family. That’s going to be a big story for us going forward.”