No, the father of April’s baby in Emmerdale wasn’t Ross or Anthony – here’s why

Last night’s episode of Emmerdale had fans questioning who the father of April’s baby might be – as the soap revealed that the missing teenager had fallen pregnant prior to running away from home on Christmas Day 2024. As fans reeled from the bombshell news, a number of theories soon emerged as to who the father might be.

From the list of suspects, two names proved popular – recently murdered predator Anthony Fox, and local hardman Ross Barton. With Anthony’s evil past having recently resurfaced, some have wondered whether he might have victimised young April prior to his own disappearance.

And then there’s Ross, who April bonded with in the days shortly before running away. These facts, combined with April’s obvious trauma, led some to wonder whether either man could have groomed the vulnerable teenager.

Lateral thinking – but extremely unlikely. Here’s why those particular fan theories might not hold water.

The timeline doesn’t add up for Anthony

Anthony first arrived in the village in November. April disappeared two months later, and gave birth in last night’s episode. The timing of this alone, would seem to rule him out.

Anthony’s past may have earned him a bashing from Laurel, but he had been on his best behaviour since getting his feet under Ruby and Caleb’s table. Indeed, he seemed far more concerned with tormenting Ruby and making in-roads with Steph than anything else.

“It’s more likely to be Anthony but considering he did nothing to Angel and his abuse seems based on only ruby it also seems less likely,” wrote one fan in a Reddit thread.

“If one more person says Anthony is the dad I will lose it,” said another, less diplomatically.

Ross would never

The timeline for Ross doesn’t add up either, with the village hardman returning to the soap in October. But beyond that, there’s a far more solid reason why it can’t be him – he would never.

“Ross is many things but a nonce is not one of them,” wrote one fan.

“I don’t think Ross would do that. Cain got away with sleeping with a 15 year old girl. If that was Ross and April, Ross wouldn’t,” another agreed.

Who’s the father of April’s baby in Emmerdale?

Who the father turns out to be remains to be seen. But it’s far more likely that it’s an as-yet unknown figure – perhaps from April’s school, or a man she met on social media.

Whoever it was, April has a long road to recovery ahead. Can Marlon and Rhona provide their daughter with the support and understanding she needs?

Read more: From Carl King to son Tom, Emmerdale characters that finally got their comeuppance

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Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.

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