Sam Dingle (James Hooton) has been very busy planning a surprise for Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) in Emmerdale but in true Sam Dingle style, it hasn’t come without problems.
Over the past few weeks, Lydia has been attending dance classes, but she’s been going alone thanks to Sam making it perfectly clear he isn’t keen on shaking his hips in a Cha-Cha or getting passionate in an Argentine Tango.
Unbeknownst to Lydia though, Sam has been secretly having lessons from Ross Barton (Michael Parr).
The man has added quite a few strings to his bow since his return in 2024: Director of Operations at Home Farm, lead investigator in the barn fires mystery on Robert Sugden’s (Ryan Hawley) land, general flirt, and the latest, a dupe version of Anton Du Beke.
In future episodes, Sam’s after more dance lessons from Ross so he can impress Lydia. He gets a few locked in, but has to turn down a cosy evening with his wife as a result of his schedule.
Up at Home Farm, Kim Tate (Claire King) is taken aback to discover that Sam has been lying about working extra hours to avoid spending time with Lydia.
She’s deeply concerned for her best mate and later, when it becomes clear that Lydia feels estranged from Sam, Kim’s suspicions continue to grow.
Meanwhile, Ross manages to secure another night with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), but Sam’s desperation to rehearse some new moves means he crashes the romantic moment with Ross and his new lover.
Fortunately, to prevent their secret fling from getting out, Ross quickly covers and says that Laurel will be helping Sam dance.
With Sam so focused on sharpening his dancing skills before showing Lydia, will he realise that his sneaking around is impacting their relationship?
Or will Kim have to get involved?
