‘Emmerdale’: Vinny in danger as he makes a discovery about Meena

Emmerdale’s resident murderer Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) has once again been caught out, as tonight’s instalment saw Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) follow her to a barn where she has been holding sister Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) hostage.

The only problem is, he can’t raise the alarm — he was knocked out by Meena within seconds of the penny dropping.

Earlier in the week, we were led to wonder if the psychopathic nurse had bumped off poor Manpreet, as she was seen dragging a body away in the dead of night.

Read more: Murderous Meena 'will do anything' warns actor Paige Sandhu

Emmerdale left us hanging over that twist during Thursday’s double-bill, instead embracing the full soapy madness of this flamboyant villain.

Much of Meena’s focus last night was on the absence of one of her beloved trinkets — the ring she callously took from Leanna Cavanagh (Mimi Slinger) shortly after throwing the teen to her death last summer.

Noah Dingle (Jack Downham) had stolen it from Meena’s B&B room and given it to girlfriend Chloe Harris (Jessie Elland), before forcing Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) to hold onto the ring when he realised Meena was onto him.

Unfazed by the consequences of wandering into the Dingle cottage, she did just that, finding the ring and playfully tampering with Vinny’s evidence board which suggested that Ben Tucker’s (Simon Lennon) killer was male.

Tutting at the blatant sexism involved, Meena entertained herself with her animated remarks, clearly loving every second of what she considered to be a fun game.

Soapland has a rich history of female villains, from Corrie’s Maya to EastEnders’ Dr May. Like the trio of women before her, Meena can’t go on terrorising forever - but there’s no way she’ll go quietly.

Read more: Next week's Emmerdale spoilers

Emmerdale is milking this storyline for all it’s worth and as far as I’m concerned, the camper the better until the very end.

Vinny was close to giving up on his quest for the truth, but tonight everything changed when he shared a bizarre exchange with Meena, and Noah later described his own confrontation with her.

This was where her mask well and truly slipped; and although it’s taken a while for the real Meena to show her face in public, the moment was worth waiting for.

Noah was bewildered at Meena’s lack of fear when he threatened her with a visit from local hard-man Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) for breaking into the family home.

Apparently that was all it took for someone to finally work out something wasn’t quite right with the woman. Who knew?

Now convinced he had a concrete lead in order to help free Liv Flaherty (Isobel Steele) from prison, Vinny jumped in the Dingle van and tailed Meena without telling anyone else what he was doing (rookie error).

Now he’s trapped alongside Manpreet, but will his family realise he’s in danger, or will they be too busy complaining about their missing vehicle to connect the dots?

You’d think with all their experience of murderers, Emmerdale’s villagers would be able to spot them a mile off, but they’re certainly taking their time.

No one wants lovely Vinny to meet his maker, and we’d also like to keep kind-hearted doctor Manpreet. Surely it’s now only a matter of time before Meena is stopped once and for all.

The question is, can she be thwarted before she claims any more victims?

If you thought this week was tense, it looks like upcoming episodes are going to raise the bar even higher. Be prepared for edge-of-your-seat scenes.

Emmerdale continues at 7pm on Monday.

Watch next week's Emmerdale spoilers for a taste of what's to come