Soap spoilers follow.
As Emmerdale's upsetting Tom and Belle storyline intensified on screen with a special episode this week, new spoilers were dropped for the next stage of the ongoing plot.
Meanwhile, Coronation Street hinted at Alya's longer-term future as she bowed out from the cobbles for a while, and another Hollyoaks exit announcement was made.
But with a typically busy week of soap headlines, did you miss any gossip? Here's our weekly round-up of the major news that came our way this week.
More trauma ahead for Emmerdale's Belle
Emmerdale's special 'dinner party' edition focusing on Tom, Belle, Marlon and Rhona proved to be one of the show's most powerful episodes in recent memory.
The unique format, showing different perspectives of the same evening, perfectly illustrated how appearances can be deceptive when it comes to abusers like Tom.
On the day the episode aired, Emmerdale dropped further spoilers for next week's episodes – confirming that Tom's next move will be to start exerting control over Belle's finances by opening up a joint bank account. Other scenes will see Tom step up his attempts to isolate Belle from her family.
Worrying spoiler pictures were also released, previewing another violent incident in next week's episodes.
Coronation Street's Alya future revealed
Team Digital Spy was slightly surprised to be writing "Alya's new romance" stories last month, just a few weeks before she was due to leave Weatherfield. With Sair Khan's maternity exit imminent at the time, Alya's new-found chemistry with former colleague Adam seemed like a storyline that wasn't really destined to go anywhere.
Fortunately though, that hasn't proved to be the case as Alya's temporary exit scene this week provided a sneaky tease for the future. When Alya left to take up her new work opportunity in Dublin, she spotted the message "Love Adam x" written in a legal book that he'd kindly bought for her.
Fans have been praising the chemistry between Alya and Adam, so this feels like a story that's sure to be picked up again when Alya returns. There were on-screen mentions this week of Alya planning to stay away for six months.
In real life, Alya's exit was quickly followed up by the happy news that Sair had welcomed a baby boy in real life.
More Hollyoaks exits confirmed
The drama in Hollyoaks is relentless at the moment, both on screen and off. Last week the show aired a dramatic peak in Carter's conversion therapy story, and there was no let-up this week as Dave and Cindy's wedding ended in tragedy.
When a dodgy batch of drugs were passed around at the wedding reception, the consequences were fatal as Lizzie and Hunter both suffered severe reactions and passed away. Mason left the village in the aftermath.
This story now seems likely to pave the way for the departure of Warren, who'd supplied the drugs in the first place. Prince, Mercedes, Grace and Freddie are all out for the bad boy's blood following recent events, which doesn't bode well for him.
Meanwhile, the news also broke that Jonas Khan has finished filming in his role as Zain Rizwaan. With up to 20 cast members rumoured to be leaving as part of cutbacks at the soap, it seems there'll be many more departures to come.
Coronation Street confirms Bernie's secret
Coronation Street's Bernie has been behaving suspiciously recently, but there's not long to wait until the reasons why are fully revealed on screen.
Spoilers were released this week confirming that Bernie once had a secret son called Zodiac, who's now using the name of Christopher Green.
Viewers will see Bernie confide in her partner Dev in Monday's episode (May 13). In the meantime, the emotional backstory has been shared by Jane Hazlegrove, who plays the role of Bernie.
Revealing why Bernie gave her son up for adoption all those years ago, Jane explained: "Her and Denny were having a really bad time and they decided they were going to split up. She went out and got off her face and a couple of months later she was pregnant, and it was quite apparent that the baby was not Denny's.
"She thought she was going to be able to cope once the baby arrived but she already had the twins, Denny was no longer around and she had no one. She was really, really struggling but also still quite selfish, I think.
"There's a certain selflessness with doing what she did, thinking that this child would be better off with people who could give him a better life. But she still feels everyone would judge her."
EastEnders promotes Whitney's exit week
EastEnders is gearing up for a big week of episodes as Whitney Dean finally waves farewell to Walford.
Whitney's departure has been one of Soapland's unusual 'long goodbyes'. Her exit was first confirmed in the press last July, so we've had nearly a year of episodes to watch in the knowledge that she'd eventually be leaving. This is often the risk when higher-profile cast members bow out and the media gets hold of their intentions early.
Show bosses have now started the official promotional campaign for Whitney's final episodes, which kick off in the week commencing Monday, May 20.
This includes an official trailer and some new pictures released today previewing Whitney and Zack's wedding.
Hollyoaks' future Blake family plans revealed
Still reeling from the news that Jeremy Sheffield is returning to Hollyoaks as Patrick Blake's long-lost twin? Us too, but that didn't stop Digital Spy from delving deeper into the big twist this week.
We spoke exclusively to Anna Passey, who shared details of how Sienna will feel about having Patrick's twin Jez in her life.
Meanwhile, Emma Johnsey-Smith gave us Dilly's perspective in a separate exclusive chat – and ominously warned of dark times to come for Soapland's most unpredictable family.
Neighbours brings back Harold
Harold's return to Neighbours is getting closer, so the iconic Aussie soap released some new pictures this week which previewed his return episodes.
The popular character is moving into the new Eirini Rising development and we were delighted to get our first look at him settling in – especially when we saw that Harold's tuba (almost as legendary as the man himself) will be back in action.
Home and Away's Levi and Mac over already?
Home and Away's affair storyline for Levi and Mac is still in full swing in Channel 5 episodes at the moment, but at Australian pace, the plot has moved on to a new chapter for the controversial couple.
In recent Aussie episodes, Levi confessed to his wife Imogen about his affair and made a final commitment to be with Mac.
A new trailer released on Thursday (May 9) confirmed a huge backlash ahead for Levi and Mac, as friends and neighbours around Summer Bay disapprove of their behaviour.
The situation gets so bad that Levi even quizzes Mac on whether their relationship is really worth all the animosity. Could they be driven apart already?
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, organisations including Refuge (www.refuge.org.uk) and Women's Aid (www.womensaid.org.uk) can provide further support and information. The 24-hour, freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247. The US National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text LOVEIS to 22522.
