Emmerdale star Chris Bisson predicts permanent split for Jai and Laurel

Emmerdale spoilers follow.

Emmerdale star Chris Bisson has hinted that Jai Sharma and Laurel Thomas will finally reach the end of the road next week.

Upcoming episodes see Laurel decide that she wants to reunite with Jai properly after seeing how well he handles a staff strike at The HOP.

Sadly, things soon go wrong for the couple again when drugs are found next to Jai's missing wallet and Laurel refuses to believe that they don't belong to him.

Speaking about the tense scenes, Chris explained: "Everyone thinks that Jai must have relapsed. It looks far too convenient that drugs get pulled out alongside this wallet.

jai sharma, priya kotecha, laurel thomas, emmerdale

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"Jai's family and Laurel all think it's another lie, as he's usually so good at making things up. They think it's all part of his addiction, but it 100% isn't.

"Jai is trying to defend himself and his reputation, as he wouldn't throw everything away when it was all going great. It becomes a great source of frustration for Jai, because he's trying to plead his innocence but his dad is trying to get him to go to rehab.

"Laurel is also giving Jai a really hard time, saying that his lies keep rolling off the tongue. Jai hasn't done anything wrong but unfortunately, because of his history, they simply don't believe him and he ends up at a point of despair and desperation."

On the implications for Jai and Laurel's relationship, Chris continued: "I think a line has been crossed here. Laurel says that she just doesn't believe Jai and he gives her both barrels in The Woolpack, as you'd expect.

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"Jai gives her a piece of his mind. He says that he can't live in this way as she clearly doesn't trust him.

"I think Jai feels disappointed in Laurel because she has her own problems with being a recovering alcoholic. I don't know if it's because Laurel wasn't 100% behind getting back together in the first place, but it seems quite harsh that she's not more understanding. I think he sees a different side to her.

"There have been times when Laurel's halo has slipped slightly. She hasn't been as kind or as understanding as usual. There have been a couple of scenes where Laurel's not very nice to Jai at all.

"I can't see Jai getting back together with Laurel, given that he pled his innocence and he was absolutely adamant but she wouldn't believe him. I don't see how they get back from there."

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Chris also spoke about the mystery of who is responsible for the drugs.

Jai's big theory is that Kim Tate has planted them to frame him, wanting revenge after he challenged her over zero-hour contracts at The HOP.

Chris said: "Kim clearly has an axe to grind, as she feels Jai made her back down over the staff contracts and she thinks it makes her look weak. She has already made a veiled threat about it, so Jai thinks this must be Kim's revenge.

"All clues point to Kim at this point."

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV and streams on the ITV Hub.