Emmerdale's Gabby Thomas could be about to feature in a major twist amid her blossoming romance with newcomer Nicky.
It's been teased the newcomer has an ulterior motive for wanting to be with her, while he's set to propose to her next week.
Gabby says yes and the pair become engaged, marking a major milestone for the character who has grown up on the ITV soap.
The character was born to Bernice Blackstock and Ashley Thomas on Christmas Day in 2001, and will be 22 years old this year.
Over the past two decades she's seen some major changes and has grown up before viewers' eyes, from having a baby and losing her best friend Liv Flaherty, to a string of romances in the village.
But Gabby has faced some very difficult times over the years, while the character has been played by three different actresses.
Surprise recast
Actress Rosie Bentham first appeared in the role of Gabby in 2016, after a sudden and surprise recast on the ITV soap.
Prior to this actress Annelise Manojlovic played the role from birth, while another actress called Jemma Giles portrayed her as a baby too.
Annelise played Gabby for around 14 years, until the role was suddenly recast in 2016 and Rosie took over without warning in an episode that year.
Ashley's tragic death
One of Gabby's most traumatic storylines over the years is the loss of her father Ashley Thomas, after his battle with early-onset vascular dementia.
Ashley passed away in 2018 leaving villagers and viewers in mourning. Gabby struggled as her father deteriorated, with her having to step up to support her stepmother Laurel and her younger brother Arthur.
The storyline was a big one for the soap and the characters involved, with a special episode giving viewers a glimpse of what Ashley was experiencing from his point of view.
Baby twist
Gabby found herself at the centre of a baby twist in 2021, when she fell pregnant with Jamie Tate's baby after a one-night stand.
The character went ahead with her pregnancy and welcomed baby Thomas later that year, while Jamie wanted nothing to do with the child.
Jamie ended up faking his death before going on the run, and since then it has been teased the villain will return to steal his son.
Nicky drama
Gabby is currently dating the Home Farm nanny Nicky, despite Kim Tate warning her about the romance.
It seems there is a twist ahead though, as Nicky actor Lewis Cope hinted there was a big reason Nicky wanted to be with Gabby.
He said: "Yeah, he seems to have a huge interest in Gabby. He's got his reasons why he wants to be with her which will all come out eventually."
On whether his character was hiding something, he went on: "I think Nicky has got a lot going on, and maybe with it being a soap there is more."
On the fan theories over Nicky having a secret identity, and possibly being linked to another character, he added: "The fan theories have been great.
"It has been nice to see how other people view the situation and the character, and just the madness of what people come up with has been fun."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
