2025 was Emmerdale's 54th year. Production was overseen by producers Sophie Roper and Laura Shaw until March, with Shaw becoming the sole producer thereafter. Iain MacLeod continued as executive producer.

Major storylines included John Sugden's saviour complex, April Windsor and Dylan Penders being exploited by drug dealers Celia Daniels and Ray Walters, Charity Dingle agreeing to be a surrogate for Sarah Sugden and Jacob Gallagher only for the baby to turn out to be her own as the result of a one night stand with Ross Barton, Ruby Miligan murdering her rapist father Anthony Fox and the Dingle family helping her cover it up, Joe Tate's quest for a kidney transplant leading to the limo crash that caused the deaths of Leyla Harding, Amy Barton and Suzy Merton, the affair between Joe and Dawn Fletcher and the whodunnit attack on Joe, the return of Robert Sugden and the arrival of his crazed prison husband Kev Townsend, who was later revealed to be the father of Ross Barton's long lost brother Lewis, Vinny Dingle coming to terms with his sexuality and the disappearance of Bear Wolf and the reveal that he was being held as a slave by Celia and Ray.