Emmerdale airs a sad goodbye next week, as a popular character leaves the ITV soap seemingly for good. It leads to emotional scenes as residents wave them off.
Marshall Hamston exits the village after a tough few months, leaving his love interest Arthur Thomas devastated. After Arthur revealed to his loved ones that he was gay in scenes that aired last year, he soon found himself helping his friend with his own sexuality.
What initially appeared to be Marshall pranking Arthur turned out to be something very different, with Marshall struggling to come to terms with himself being gay.
It soon emerged his homophobic father was to blame, with his taunts and comments about Arthur and then to his son. This escalated when Marshall opened up to him, and he physically harmed his son.
Following this, fans saw Marshall struggle after being kicked out by his dad and he moved in with Arthur and his family. Initially going off the rails, the character later confided in Arthur and Arthur's mother Laurel about his mental health and his struggles to accept who he was.
With the help of Arthur he did come to terms with everything, but decided he and Arthur should be friends and to not give romance a go. Fans, like Arthur, had hoped maybe one day the pair would get together and soon they did - with scenes in May seeing them try again.
But new spoilers have confirmed an end to the romance, as Marshall leaves the village for good. Marshall thanks Laurel for all she’s done for him, but tells Arthur he has to go.
Arthur is heartbroken as Marshall packs his things and prepares to move away with his aunt. The pair hug it out in an emotional goodbye, as Marshall leaves with his relative.
Laurel is left comforting her young son, who sobs in despair over losing his first love - but will Arthur get over the heartbreak?
It's not known if a future return could be on the horizon for the character, while viewers will be able to watch the sad scenes unfold on their screens next week.
Arthur isn't the only one in the family to face heartache recently, as his sister Gabby Thomas was jilted on her wedding day by partner Nicky after his confession that he was gay, and that he was just using her as part of his dad Caleb Miligan's revenge against Kim Tate.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
