Emmerdale is the latest soap to go all experimental on us, playing around with time as the show airs an unmissable set of episodes next week.

Popular characters like Aaron Dingle, Robert Sugden, Paddy Kirk and Ashley Thomas will be taking centre stage, as the show lines up a catastrophic event that will leave lives hanging in the balance.

Show bosses have been teasing this big week for months now and many details are staying under wraps for now, but they're certainly going all-out to impress with this one.

All of next week's Emmerdale episodes take place in the same 24-hour period, but the first four will explore the day from the perspective of different character groups.

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If you caught Hollyoaks' recent Point Of View week, you'll definitely understand the concept. If not, we're sure you'll soon get used to it.

Adding to the intrigue, each of those first four episodes also opens with an intriguing flashforward to a future funeral, confirming imminent doom for one of the villagers. Yikes.

Here's how the week is looking. Monday's episode centres around Robron, as Robert Sugden plans a romantic proposal for Aaron Dingle.

Things can never be so simple for Robron, though, so a huge spanner is thrown in the works thanks to Lachlan White, who's suspicious of Robert's relationship with Chrissie's sister Rebecca.

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Giving his enemy a warning, Lachlan threatens to claim that Robert sexually abused him - but Aaron overhears and decides to intervene by bundling the twisted teen into his car boot.

Lachlan manages to make his escape, forcing Aaron and Robert to give chase. As this takes them all to a cliff edge, could there be deadly danger ahead?

Tuesday's episode moves onto Paddy, Rhona, Pierce and Marlon as jealousies and rivalries threaten to escalate into high drama. Upset over an argument with Pierce, Rhona decides to gatecrash Paddy and Marlon's camping trip with Leo.

Pierce later catches Rhona out in a lie when she fails to be honest with him about where she is, sending his simmering jealousy to new levels. As the tension mounts, could Pierce end up with blood on his hands?

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Wednesday's episode is all about James and Emma, who are starring in their very own version of Stephen King's Misery.

As Emma continues to hold him captive, James makes another desperate bid for freedom - but will his unstable wife thwart his attempts to escape? And just how dangerous is she?

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Thursday's first episode then shifts our attention to Ashley and Laurel, as the heartwarming day of Dotty's christening arrives.

Sadly, Ashley's condition is deteriorating quickly now due to his dementia and he hits a new low when he forgets who Dotty is in the middle of the christening. Devastated when he realises what he's done, can Ashley come back from this?

The final two episodes of the week then see all four stories converge into one terrible event, which is staying under wraps for now but will leave at least three lives hanging in the balance.

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An Emmerdale insider told Digital Spy: "The week begins with a flash-forward to a funeral. We see some of our favourite characters mourning at a graveside, but we don't know who's in the coffin. Someone is going to die - but who?

"The four stories featuring this week ultimately converge in a terrible event, which will only be revealed in explosive detail as we near the climax of the week.

"We know it will leave at least one of them dead - but only in the final scene of the week do we find out who."

Emmerdale kicks off the big week on Monday, October 17 at 7pm on ITV.

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