Emmerdale fans have rumbled Joe Tate’s return to the village as they think he’ll make his way back for Dawn as the pair go on the run together.
At the end of last year, Ned Porteous reprised his role as Joe Tate after a few years away from the ITV soap. Upon his return, fans grew suspicious of his true intentions.
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It started with him attempting to create a close bond with half-brother Noah Dingle, and even went as far to bribe him with football tickets, Frank Tate’s watch and even a new job opportunity in Dubai.
As Joe suddenly experienced medical episodes that led to him collapsing, followed by visits from a mystery Dr Crowley – it was finally revealed that he was suffering from chronic kidney disease.
In desperate need of a transplant, it turned out that Joe was behind the limo crash as he had spiked Noah to see if he was a match. Charity tried to avoid hitting Noah was in the middle of the road, which led to her veering off into the frozen lake.
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With Noah not being a match, he set his sights on his uncle Caleb Miligan. Wanting to make sure that he really was a match, Joe enlisted the help of Manpreet.
Joe claimed that he had Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, and it was passed down from Frank. He told Manpreet he was worried that Caleb would also be suffering from the same fate. With this, he managed to convince her to get a sample of his blood – leading to confirmation of a match.
In a violent scene, Joe got an accomplice named Shaun to stab Caleb at the depot, but the stabbing was more severe than intended.
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As Joe dragged Caleb to Dr Crowley, the dodgy doctor was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to save him. Things turned around for the better, though, as Caleb survived and was told they had to remove his kidney as it became damaged during the stabbing.
Dawn was heartbroken after realising that Joe had left without telling her(Image: ITV)
Later, viewers watched as Joe video called Caleb to check in on him before he fled the Dales leaving everyone behind – including Dawn.
Joe and Dawn began their affair shortly after he arrived in the village, with Dawn finding herself increasingly unhappy in her marriage to Billy.
As he left the village, fans have theorised that he isn’t gone for good and will return for Dawn. On a Facebook fan page, a viewer wrote: “Joe will return for love, and by love I mean his icky affair with Dawn” as another viewer replied: “Yeah, I think he’ll tell her everything and they’ll go on the run, maybe with his baby lol.”
On X (formerly known as Twitter), @Pinkladyxxxxx wrote: “So is joe just going to just disappear now, with Dawn maybe?” as @66_nicolax added: “I wish Joe would come back and collect Dawn before he runs off the Dubai.”
