The drama begins when Ella’s friend Mandy Dingle discovers that she’ll soon be turning 30.

Ella wants a low-key day, as her birthday is also the anniversary of the tragic day she killed her friend Joanne when they were both 11 years old. However, Mandy is determined that Ella should celebrate her milestone and offers her a full beauty treatment at the salon.

Mandy takes ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures to showcase Ella’s transformation, but she crosses the line when she posts them on the beauty salon’s social media pages without permission.

Ella loses it with Mandy, reminding her that she doesn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to herself due to her criminal history.

Liam Cavanagh is concerned as he spots Ella smashing her birthday cake in a rage. Ella heads off to the footbridge to cool down, but Liam approaches and offers to accompany her to her birthday party.

Although Ella accepts Liam’s offer and tries her best to enjoy the day, things go wrong when Joanne’s cousin Gary arrives in the village to confront her over the past.

Gary fuels Ella’s guilt by handing her a photo of Joanne. Ella is devastated and tries to rush off, but Gary follows in a tense pursuit.

When Ella falls to the ground amid the chaos, Wendy ushers her away from Gary and off to the GP surgery to be checked over.

In the waiting room, Ella’s traumatic day takes its toll as she loses control and attacks Wendy with no provocation. Will this spark fears that Ella isn’t truly rehabilitated?

Emmerdale airs these scenes on Thursday, August 22.