Emmerdale spoilers (January 31 to February 4)

In next week's Emmerdale, there's tension all around as The Woolpack is auctioned off.

Elsewhere, Rhona's life is rocked by a letter from Pierce and later his son arrives in the village. And Kim has a new scheme up her sleeve that upsets the villagers.

Here are the 15 big moments to watch out for.

1. Rhona receives a letter from Pierce

rhona goskirk, vanessa woodfield, emmerdale

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Rhona gets a terrifying shock when a man turns up on her doorstep saying Pierce has sent him and hands her a letter.

Vanessa encourages Rhona to bin it, but she's concerned later when Rhona hasn't. When Rhona reads the letter, she reveals that Pierce is dying and wants help tracking down his long-lost son.

2. Vanessa is scared for Rhona

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The next day, Vanessa urges Rhona not to pursue this hunt for Pierce's son, scared that this is all an act to lure Rhona back in.

But despite Vanessa's strong efforts to dissuade her, Rhona decides she will help him. Knowing that Rhona is keeping this all a secret from Marlon, Vanessa threatens to tell Marlon in one last ditch attempt to stop Rhona doing Pierce's bidding, but Rhona won't give in.

3. Rhona searches for Pierce's son Marcus

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Determined to find out the truth, Rhona contacts a prison liaison officer who confirms Pierce is dying like he told her, and this makes up Rhona's mind to help him track down Marcus, his son.

Rhona starts her hunt on social media but is lost in a sea of names until Ryan offers to help and eventually hands her Marcus's number.

Soon Rhona admits to Vanessa she has already phoned him. But unbeknown to Rhona, Vanessa sees a voicemail come in from Marcus and she returns the call, leaving him a message pretending to be Rhona…

4. Vanessa meets Marcus and pretends to be Rhona

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The next day, Marcus shows up in the village and Vanessa once again pretends to be Rhona, hoping to get rid of him from Rhona's life. As Vanessa explains she made a mistake getting in touch with him, Rhona arrives and Vanessa's plan falls apart.

Rhona is stunned to see Marcus and quickly lays into Vanessa for her behaviour. As the pair argue, Marcus steps in and asks what caused Rhona to get in touch, guessing it's something significant. Rhona takes a breath and begins to fill him in.

5. Dawn's ex Alex puts a dampener on her wedding plans

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Plans start to come together for Dawn and Billy's wedding, as she asks a delighted Harriet to be maid of honour and Kim suggests they get married at Home Farm.

With the venue sorted, Dawn's excited but that soon changes when her ex Alex appears again and begs her to hear him out over his actions last time with Lucas. But will his arrival cause Dawn more trouble?

6. Kim's determined to win

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Motivated by Will's words about finding something to put a spring in her step, Kim flicks through an auction catalogue. Will puts two and two together and suspects Kim's going to put in a bid for The Woolpack.

Charity overhears and worries about how she's going to break it to Chas.

Later, Chas confronts Kim, but this only serves to make Kim more determined than ever to get what she wants. Chas breaks down and Cain hears her say losing the pub will break her heart, so he resolves to fix things.

7. Chas struggles at the thought of losing the pub

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On the day of the auction, Chas initially refuses to go, unable to bear watching Kim snatch the pub.

Paddy and Charity are saddened to see Chas in such a defeated state, but Charity tries a new tactic and eventually Chas is emboldened to attend – refusing to go down without a fight.

8. The pub auction begins – and is sold to a mystery bidder

moira, chas, paddy, cain, marlon, emmerdale

ITV

Tension mounts at the auction and Cain shocks everyone by putting in a bid. Moira's nerves are shredded until finally Cain is outbid by a mystery online bidder.

Curiosity about the new owner gets the better of Faith as she tries to find out from the auctioneer who they are, and they inform her that the winner would like to meet Marlon and Chas in person outside The Woolpack.

Chas is nervous about who the mystery buyer is and what the future holds. Who will the new owner of the pub be?

9. Liv gets her job back

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There's some good news for Liv as she tries to settle back home when Laurel tells her she can have her job back at The Hide.

On the job front, it's less good news for Marlon as Jai rejects him for a job – ouch!

10. Priya lashes out

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Still struggling after sustaining burns in the maze fire, Priya is finding it difficult to cope now she knows Meena was responsible.

Feeling abandoned by Manpreet when she needed her the most, Priya lashes out at Manpreet and Liam is forced to step in to try and help by making Priya see sense.

11. Charity feels guilty

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Charity has another reason to feel guilty next week when Ryan prompts her to realise that Irene's funeral stirred up memories about Mack losing his own mother.

Charity's annoyed at herself for not spotting what was obviously upsetting him – will she make it up to him?

12. Kim is feeling smug

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Having felt down earlier in the week and encouraged by Will to find something to excite her, Kim skips Dawn's hen do to head off to the auction dressed to impress.

Later, she's on the phone looking very pleased with herself. Having made a profitable purchase, Kim breaks the news to her family, and later she makes a big reveal about her plans which causes shockwaves for certain villagers.

13. Laurel finds Jai's loan paperwork

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Jai's loan secret is tearing him apart, so much so he's making careless mistakes – like accidentally leaving the paperwork in full view of Laurel when he rushes off for a meeting.

Laurel's curiosity gets the better of her as she picks up the folder and reads the paperwork Jai's left behind. Will she discover his terrible deception?

14. Ellis and Belle's secret is exposed

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They've dubbed themselves the Romeo and Juliet of the Dales, but Ellis and Belle's secret relationship is brought out into the open when they're spotted looking cosy at the auction and unsurprisingly Cain is fuming.

To rub salt in the wound even more, Al turns into the world's most supportive dad, offering the couple his best wishes and inviting them for a meal with him and Kerry. Looks like Al is playing the long game!

15. Al suggests he and Kerry move into together

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Al and Kerry might not seem to be love's young dream but things are moving pretty quickly between them. Next week Al surprises Kerry by suggesting they look for a place together.

Is this all just another way to rile up Cain? And will their war intensify if Al ends up spending even more time with Kyle? We're certain Cain's going to explode when he finds out…

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.