Emmerdale's Thea Ramsden to keep secret in Steve Marchant story

Emmerdale's Thea Ramsden defies Kim Tate next week when she launches a secret investigation to find her father. But will her efforts pay off?

Against all the odds, Thea is starting to build a real bond with her birth mother Kim, who is doing everything she can to win her long-lost daughter's trust.

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However, there is one issue on which they won't agree – Steve Marchant, who's returning to the show in the coming weeks.

While Thea is understandably intrigued by her dad, Kim knows that Steve is someone she needs to steer well clear of…

"Kim screwed Steve over, but he was a cut-throat chancer who attempted to murder her old rival, Kathy," our Dales insider reminds us. "Thea had all sorts of preconceptions about Kim being a total villain, and she wasn't completely wrong.

"But when it comes to Steve, she has no idea just how dark he can be…"

While Kim is delighted by the progress that she and Thea are making, both Graham Foster and Joe Tate are not as impressed. They don't trust her at all, and Joe is very sceptical about what Thea actually wants from Kim.

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Meanwhile, Graham is also suspicious and continues to monitor the situation, unsure about what Thea might bring into Kim's world. His concerns look legit when, despite the fact that it could upset Kim, Thea starts digging for information about Steve.

It doesn't take long before she locates him and, much like her approach with Kim, Thea contacts her father under false pretences.

Once again, she wants the upper hand as she navigates a relationship with her biological parent. It may have paid off with Kim, but Steve is a different kettle of fish...

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"Let's not forget that Steve has good reason to hate Kim and want to take revenge – she flew off in a helicopter and left him to rot in prison," warns our spy.

"He has proved himself to be a violent, amoral man who will lie, steal and attack if it will benefit him. It seems unlikely that he'll be happy to discover he and Kim share a child and that his daughter is a member of the police force."

Having made contact, Thea is hopeful that she can finally meet the father she never knew. But in doing so, she risks the fragile relationship she's building with Kim. Is Thea about to make a big mistake?

See more of next week's Emmerdale spoilers:

- Emmerdale confirms Caleb and Sadie are caught out again

- Emmerdale's Sam Dingle to make desperate plea to Tom King

- Emmerdale's Caleb caught out over Sadie secret in 25 spoiler pictures

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

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