Emmerdale is in the middle of a huge and tragic plot surrounding April Windsor.

April had a stillbirth when her baby arrived early. No one else had any idea she was pregnant but we soon learned that this was why she decided to run away from her dad and the rest of the village.

Mark Charnock – who plays Marlon Dingle – spoke exclusively to The Mirror about the special episode: “It can be extremely emotional to watch and there certainly wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the lights went up at Emmerdale HQ. It’s our hope that in showing April’s story, anyone watching can see how someone can end up in this situation.

“The key thing that we wanted to get across, was a sentiment echoed by the charity: the majority of people who go missing don’t intend for things to go the way they go. It’s a snowball effect.”

As rumours continue to swirl about who the mystery person was that slept with April, we take a look at all the potential suspects:

Mystery partygoer

There has been much speculation about the identity of April’s father – but some are convinced it could just be someone she had slept with at a party. April had been going out and drinking a lot, and even taking drugs, with Marlon unaware of what was going on.

April had been drinking a lot before she left the village

April admits tonight that the baby’s father was someone she had just slept with randomly – but is she telling the truth or is someone else the dad? “He was just a random lad I met at a party, I didn’t even know his name dad,” she said, but turned away and wouldn’t speak to Marlon anymore – could this be because she’s hiding a secret and not telling the whole truth?

Samson

Samson is a likely candidate for the father of April’s baby. He departed the soap back in the summer last year amid a big storyline with Matty. Samson – played by Sam Hall – made a sudden and shock exit from the Dales when he was sent to prison.

Before his big exit storyline, he said: “Well, I don’t want to give too much away, but Samson has some really big stuff coming up. Don’t worry, as he’s definitely not being killed off! There are some good stories coming up for him, and I was very excited when I read the scripts. I like playing mean Samson, but I think his good side always shines through. Like with the baby storyline, he was worrying about Amelia being okay for Esther because Samson obviously lost his mum – and he didn’t want his kid to grow up without a mum.”

Could either Samson or Josh be the dad? (

Image:

ITV)

Samson departed the show back in August when he was jailed for four years, but could he have fathered the child before he left?

Josh

Samson’s friend Josh was a villainous character but both him and Samson were friendly with April. Fans have been speculating he could be the one who had slept with April a few months back.

“That was dark and now trying to think who April’s baby dad was. Samson’s mate perhaps? #emmerdale,” one wrote, whilst a second added: “Oh I bet its one of those mates of Samson #Emmerdale.”

Josh only had a brief spell in the Dales – but could he be back if he is the one who fathered April’s baby?

Anthony

In a harrowing twist, Emmerdale linked April and Anthony’s stories. Anthony abused his own teenager daughter Ruby, leading to the birth of her daughter Steph, and he was killed as the truth came out about what he had done.

However, he is still thought to be missing by most of the villagers, and when April was still missing, the truth came out about Anthony and Marlon wondered whether the ‘missing’ grandfather could be responsible for what happened with April.

It is very unlikely Anthony could be the father of April’s baby, given the pair had no on-screen interactions hinting at that but fans have continued to speculate. One wrote: “April had an altercation with Anthony hence his hand injury after Xmas. There must be a reason why Anthony was brought into the story #Emmerdale,” whilst another added: “Is dead Anthony the father of April’s baby…?”