We already know the New Year in Emmerdale is going to kick off with literal flames as Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) sets out to send the worst kind of message to Cain (Jeff Hordley), but after a year of hard-hitting storylines and groundbreaking episodes, and landing its first ever Best British Soap win at the British Soap Awards, how could Emmerdale ever top a fantastic 2016?
By planning for a pretty incredible 2017, by the looks of things - at least going be series producer Iain MacLeod's teases in a new video on the ITV website, that is.
"2016's been amazing, I've barely had time to catch my breath," MacLeod began. "But we've got some amazing stuff coming up in 2017."
Well, that's putting it mildly. We caught at least six major storylines to watch out for in the New Year, so read on to find out what the Dales have in store for us in 2017.
1) Debbie Dingle is back - and she's got a heartbreaking new story planned
We were promised an "explosive" return once before, and it looks like Emmerdale is more than ready to deliver on that promise as Debbie (Charley Webb) returns from France and lands straight into some big, heartbreaking drama.
"Debbie, she's back," MacLeod shared. "Tune in in January and you'll see her arriving into the show with a massive story chasing after her.
"She's smack bang in the middle of a big Dingle caper, and just when you think you can't catch your breath, there's a surprise that she has for us at the end that's kind of desperately sad, really heartbreaking and I think will trigger a massive storyline for her for the next 12-18 months."
2) Cain and Moira will face a massive event that will determine the future of their relationship
There's not much Cain and Moira (Natalie J Robb) haven't been through this year, but that doesn't mean next year will be any easier for this.
"Over Christmas. Cain and Moira have got a bit closer, and then exploded again, so you're probably wondering where they're going to end up by the next year," MacLeod teased. "Well, I can't tell you too much, but suffice to say we're building to a massive story for Cain, where he'll find himself being tempted by probably the person you'd least expect in the whole village.
"But fundamentally, there'll be a massive event for him and Moira to deal with later in the year that could either be the thing that brings them back together or could be the thing that ruins their relationship forever."
3) Pierce starts to reveal his darker side - and Rhona and Paddy find themselves in difficult positions
"I think a lot of you out there have started to suspect that Pierce might not be the nice guy everybody seems to think he is, or the nice guy that Rhona seems to think he is," MacLeod explained.
"In his mind, he's a normal guy, but actually we start to see a darker side of his personality come out much more obviously that puts Rhona in quite a difficult position and leaves her with some really tough dilemmas to deal with.
"Never far away from this story is Paddy. I think deep down, he's never going to stop loving Rhona, much as he might have accepted that he's lost her for good. So when she starts to face a really rough time of, we have to wonder how he's going to step in, is he going to step in and what danger might he find himself in as a result of perhaps coming to the rescue of the woman that he once loved."
4) Nicola and Jimmy's problems will resurface with a new opportunity for Nicola
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"I have to say, Nicola and Jimmy are such fun," the producer added. "I just think they're fiery and funny and kind of truthful really, I'm really rooting for them.
"She's had her fair share of difficulties this year, with the head injury and the Mill fire and towards the early part of this year, that will resurface again in a way that will present her with a massive new opportunity.
5) Aaron wades himself into a messy situation and gets into trouble
"Early 2017, what we see from Aaron is really surprising," he teased, "he finds himself in the middle of someone else's story. So fuelled by his own turbulent feelings about Robert and a little bit of jealousy about Rebecca, he sort of wades into a situation that he probably shouldn't, gets himself in a right mess, finds himself in quite a bit of trouble and all of this only serves to remind Robert how much he loves Aaron and sharpens his eagerness to get him up the aisle.
"So the big question then becomes, will Aaron get his happy ever after? Will this big mess that he finds himself in spoil his happy day? And if they get up the aisle, how on earth will their relationship survive with the troubles that they find themselves in?
6) Is there a reunion for Zak and Lisa on the cards?
"Over Christmas, you've seen the end of Zak and Joanie and then you've seen Lisa, because she's so wounded by what Zak's done to her unable to just take him back straight away, so the question is can Zak wear her down? And how do you go about repairing a heart that you've broken that badly? Well, Zak tries his darndest.
"At times he'll find himself really close, at times he'll be a million miles away, but I think fundamentally they're a couple that just belong together - they're Butch and Sundance, the world's just not right if Zak and Lisa aren't together."
Digital Spy