Emmerdale - Laurel Dingle discovers that she might be pregnant and will face a life-changing decision.

Laurel finds out she is pregnant when she accidentally falls off a ladder while making the final preparations to move back into Mulberry Cottage with Ashley and their family.

When Laurel has to be checked over, Emma Barton lets her know that she may be expecting a baby - which immediately leaves her worrying about how on earth she'll cope.

Charlotte Bellamy, who plays Laurel, revealed: "It was the last thing she ever expected. At first, Laurel just knows that it's going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. She'll be dealing with a baby as well as Ashley's illness. Laurel feels that she has to abort, even though it goes against what she stands for. For both Laurel and Ashley, this would never have been an option, but she feels she has to make a decision. Ashley is very much against Laurel's decision. She eventually tries to make out that it's because of her alcoholism that she wants to terminate the pregnancy, but it'll be evident to the audience that it's actually because Ashley's not going to be there forever. Laurel will be bringing up a child while Ashley's going to be getting worse and worse with his dementia. By the time the baby is born, he may not even be alive."

After much discussion with Ashley, Laurel starts to come around to the idea of becoming a mum again, but the decision may be tragically taken out of her hands when she suddenly starts bleeding.

Laurel is rushed into hospital, but then faces an agonising wait as the sonographer admits that she cannot say for sure whether she has lost the baby or not until more time has passed.

Bellamy continued: "By the time Laurel thinks she's miscarrying, she's decided that she actually wants this baby. She realises this may be her last opportunity to be a mum. We're left unsure whether she's pregnant or not, so we'll have to wait and see. If she is, it will throw a massive spanner in the works. How on earth are they going to cope with Ashley, a baby and Sandy who's in his late 80s? She'd be a carer for all of them. It's not even that Laurel has taken on too much - it's the way things have unravelled and it's really out of her control."

Laurel's pregnancy news will air next week