Man alert!

You can't blame the women of Emmerdale for feeling a bit put out.

There's a serious lack of single, eligible men in the village at the moment – especially since Hari only pops up from time to time. But the lusty locals are going to be in seventh heaven towards the end of the month as gorgeous newcomer David Metcalfe makes his debut.

In the village on a special, personal mission, the buff blonde will immediately catch the eye of one unlucky-in-love local in particular. Having given up Carl to Chas and struck out with Paddy, Del Dingle is determined to get her man this time. And it seems that the feeling may be mutual when she and David hit it off almost immediately.

However, this is a man with a clear objective. He's looking for his father and whether or not he'll have time to pursue Del too remains to be seen.

One man who always finds time to pursue the ladies is Jimmy King. Having spent the entire summer unable to get up to his usual tricks thanks to a lengthy stint in rehab, the eldest King brother is looking for love.

But considering most of the women in Emmerdale wouldn't touch him with a barge pole, Jimmy is going to look back in order to move forward. He'll be rekindling his romance with gobby gold-digger Kelly Windsor – much to the disgust of both their families.

Of course, Kelly loves a man who's willing to flash his cash and Jimmy is happy to do anything it takes to win her back. But with their families at war over the tragic King's River Development house collapse, is there more to Kelly's involvement with Jimmy than meets the eye? Or has true love blossomed between two of the village's most rotten residents?

Finally, considering he's supposed to be the voice of wisdom and reason in the community, Ashley Thomas is proving to be a bit of a rubbish vicar. The hot-headed local has been putting noses out of joint all year long, not least that of his long-suffering wife Laurel.

And relations between the couple deteriorate further as the winter draws on, leading Laurel to think twice about breaking some exciting news to her moody spouse.

The thing is, Laurel is pregnant with the couple's first child – in a storyline that, bizarrely, mirrors that of Laurel actress Charlotte Bellamy, who has just announced she too is expecting a baby – and doesn't know how Ashley will take the news.

Can Laurel find a way to take Ashley into her confidence or is the marriage heading for even rockier waters?