ALCOHOLIC Laurel Thomas is caught trying to drown her sorrows with booze by Nicola King in the wake of her termination next week in Emmerdale.

Laurel and Jai decided to terminate their pregnancy after receiving confirmation that their baby had Down's Syndrome. Here’s the lowdown on Laurel’s alcohol addiction and relapse…

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What do we know about Laurel’s relapse in Emmerdale?

Over the new year period, viewers saw Laurel tempted by a glass of champagne as she continued to reel in the wake of her termination. 

And next week, viewers will see Laurel tempted by a bottle of vodka in the cupboard as she continues to battle her demons.

She’s on the verge of pouring it down the sink when an alert from a pregnancy app on her phone touches a nerve – and pushes her to knock the vodka back. 

Nicola bursts in and is shocked to see what she’s doing, leading Laurel to explain about the termination.

Nicola calls Jai, but will he be able to help Laurel?

Why does Laurel relapse in Emmerdale?

Viewers know that Laurel and Jai decided to undergo a termination in the ITV soap after receiving confirmation that their baby would have Down’s Syndrome.

But viewers watched Laurel struggle to cope in the aftermath of her huge decision in the countdown to Christmas. 

Full of self-hatred, Laurel struggled to accept kind words or gestures from any of her family or friends. 

Actress Charlotte Bellamy – who plays Laurel – has said of the storyline: "Terminating a pregnancy is an emotive subject, but I think, as a programme, what Emmerdale does brilliantly is portray difficult stories that are important to tell."

She added that she's hopeful that "Laurel and Jai's story will take the audience on the journey of them coming to this conclusion and having some understanding why they do".

"There are some very powerfully written scenes that I hope will give a fair portrayal of their situation.

"When I embarked on this storyline I was well aware of the responsibility of the subject matter, but the scripts have been so well written and I think the story is told fairly."

What do we know about Laurel’s drink problem in Emmerdale?

Emmerdale fans will remember that Laurel turned to the bottle in 2015 after a string of traumatic events in her life. 

But disaster struck when her young stepdaughter April ended up drinking juice that Laurel had mixed with vodka.

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Laurel put her children in danger again when she passed out on the sofa while she was supposed to be looking after April and her son Arthur. 

Another alcohol-fuelled episode saw Laurel run over Marlon's pet Daisy, sabotaging their marriage. 

But it was only when Laurel slept with a stranger to get money to buy alcohol that she was finally forced to face up to the extent of her problem and seek help.

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