ITV Emmerdale viewers are speculating that Laurel Thomas might be expecting a baby.

The character, portrayed by Charlotte Bellamy, has been displaying symptoms of memory problems following an incident where her son Arthur Thomas shoved her during a heated row.

The conflict between mother and son stemmed from Laurel's unresolved emotions towards Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), who met his end at the hands of Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards).

Laurel had been in a short relationship with Ray before ending things upon discovering the antagonist's appalling criminal past.

She harboured some compassion for her ex-partner, who endured a difficult childhood under the late Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths).

When Ray's funeral occurred, Laurel felt saddened that no one would grieve for him.

She decided to accompany Bear to the chapel where Ray's remains were laid out, though this decision drew criticism from Bear's relatives.

Arthur has also expressed displeasure with his mother, challenging why she retained any affection for Ray given his behaviour towards others.

In Tuesday's (March 3) instalment, Gabby quizzed Laurel about the precise circumstances of her injury that evening, with neither realising Arthur was to blame.

Following another "dizzy spell", Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) announced she would get in touch with Dr Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker).

The doctor visited the property and conducted several examinations on Laurel, requesting that Gabby and Arthur step out whilst she consulted with Laurel privately. Laurel rationalised that she didn't want Gabby or Arthur to fret any more, but Manpreet challenged her, suggesting she was concealing something and bluntly asked her friend what was really happening.

Under some duress, Laurel fabricated a tale. She claimed that she had tripped over one of Dotty's toys and hadn't wanted to share the incident for fear her daughter would feel guilty.

Manpreet appeared to accept the explanation, but is Laurel shielding Arthur or does she have another secret?

Taking to X, previously known as Twitter, one viewer wrote: "I bet Laurel is pregnant with Rays baby. @ emmerdale #Emmerdale."

Another chimed in: "#emmerdale dear god,is she pregnant."

A third person speculated: "Wonder if Laurel is pregnant #Emmerdale."

Viewers will have to stay tuned to see Laurel's next steps as she grapples with her health concerns.

Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 8pm and available to stream from 7am on ITVX

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