Joe Tate made his escape on Emmerdale following his illegal kidney transplant – though his reprieve will be short-lived as a healthy dose of comeuppance is on the way.

The scheming villain recently teamed up with Dr Crowley in a bid to save his life after he was suffering from a chronic kidney disease, with the character having his eyes on several villagers to dupe.

After failed plots to exploit half-brother Noah and Manpreet, Joe and Crowley eventually settled on Caleb Miligan, though the plan was thrown into chaos after their accomplice Shaun stabbed Caleb outside the depot.

Crowley managed to save Caleb’s life and successfully perform the kidney transplant seemingly without any suspicion, though he and Joe were left fretting for their futures after Shaun was arrested.

Monday’s (March 31) instalment saw Caleb recuperate in hospital, with the character receiving visits from Ruby and Cain. The police officer later stopped by and remarked that Joe would be brought in for questioning once he had returned from his ‘business trip’.

Unbeknownst to them, Joe – who had said he was in Chicago – was actually still at the medical facility with Crowley, with the pair talking over the details of their getaways as they divulged that Shaun had flown to Thailand following his release from custody.

Despite Crowley’s advice not to travel too far, Joe ignored the doctor’s medical suggestions and shared that he would soon be flying to Dubai, with the villain hoping for a new start far away from the Dales.

Though Joe seemingly had a permanent exit planned after he deleted Dawn from his contact list, it won’t be the last we see of the bad boy, with a spokesperson for the ITV soap confirming last week that the “desperate” villain would “ultimately get his comeuppance.”