As Emmerdale prepares to tell viewers who killed Ray Walters, Friday’s episode of the ITV soap hinted at the suspects and Rhona Goskirk once again made a cryptic phone call

20:00, 16 Jan 2026Updated 20:25, 16 Jan 2026

Emmerdale prepares to tell viewers who killed Ray Walters

Emmerdale prepares to tell viewers who killed Ray Walters(Image: ITV)

Rhona Goskirk is hiding something big on Emmerdale, and now fans think they know what it is.

The character, who has been named a suspect in Ray Walters’ murder to viewers, has been acting oddly with cryptic phone calls and messages. There’s been three or four occasions where she’s been secretly using her phone to contact a mystery person.

Her unknown message is urgent, and on Friday we saw her elaborate a little further. When alone, she left a voicemail message for the recipient after they continued to ignore her contact.

It’s what she said though that left fans convinced that it’s tied to Ray’s murder, and they may know who she’s speaking with. As police officers continued to investigate Ray’s demise, Jai Sharma found himself being quizzed, while Moira Dingle was also arrested this week over Celia Daniels’ dodgy dealings.

READ MORE: Emmerdale fans concerned as missing character is replaced amid Ray’s murderREAD MORE: EastEnders fans ‘rumble’ who actually killed Anthony – but it’s not JasmineRhona Goskirk is hiding something big on Emmerdale

Rhona Goskirk is hiding something big on Emmerdale(Image: ITV)

So when Rhona failed to get into contact with the mystery person once more on Friday, she told them a very telling message. She claimed they needed to talk as soon as possible, as she needed to know what was going on as people were being arrested.

This heavily alluded that it was about Ray’s murder and that she could be involved. So did she commit the crime, or does she know who did and is this who she is calling?

Fans are sure now that Rhona is calling someone who either killed Ray, or helped her cover up the crime. The person people are suspecting is Laurel Thomas, Ray’s love interest.

She too has been acting strangely, covering something up. From chucking a bag in the bin to seeking forgiveness in the church, it’s clear something is troubling her.

Fans believe Laurel killed Ray and Rhona was there, or maybe even covered it up. Another theory is that Laurel’s son Arthur Thomas is the killer, and he was protected by both Laurel and Rhona, hence the phone calls.

The person people are suspecting is Laurel Thomas, Ray's love interest

The person people are suspecting is Laurel Thomas, Ray’s love interest(Image: ITV)

One fan theorised online: “Graham or Laurel. I will guess Laurel as they are making it too obvious which means Laurel killed Ray and Ross may have helped in some way but not sure.”

Another fan predicted the caller was Laurel too, as a third posted: “Rhona’s texting Laurel.” A fourth added: “I think Rhona and Laurel might be contacting each other,” while a fifth said: “Laurel I reckon!”

The theory kept on being shared, as one viewer said: “I think Laurel and Rhona knew something about Ray’s body.” A further theory read: “Laurel & Rhona?” as another commented: “Possibly Rhona & Laurel.”

A final reaction read: “Did Laurel killed Ray? Sometimes I think is Rhona but why her son would killed him? Maybe they bough helped each other at some point.”

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