Emmerdale fans have wasted little time in trying to work out the identity of the

mystery man who is hellbent on destroying Kim Tate (Claire King)- and they think they’ve cracked the case!

Kim, as fans know, is being targeted by husband Will Taylor (Dean Andrews),

who wants revenge for the way his wife treated him in the aftermath of their split. Will has pretended to forgive Kim and even suggested that they renew their wedding vows on Christmas Day as part of his twisted plot.

The scorned lover is in cahoots with Kim’s ex and former solicitor Peter, who is working alongside a mystery man, who is set to arrive in the village over the festive period.

This person appears to be the leader of the operation, which begs the question of just why on earth he’d want to take down the legendary Kim Tate.

Fans have therefore come to the conclusion that it’s one of her former nemeses back for revenge – and there is one name in particular that has cropped up.

‘Joe tate,’ said Metro reader user Colleen, while X/Twitter user Victoria added: ‘Please let it be Joe Tate!’

Joe’s name popped up quite a lot on social media shortly after the scenes aired, with Beth writing: ‘Surely it’s Joe Tate after Kim.’

Joe Tate, played by former EastEnders star Ned Porteous, was a huge fan-favourite.

During 2018, the character was seemingly killed off in the wake of Kim’s return – with Kim taking back control of Home Farm.

A shock twist, however, later revealed that Joe was very much alive – but he has yet to return to the eponymous village.

The question is: will he decide to stage a comeback now and take revenge on the woman that took everything from him?

Fans have certainly longed for an on-screen rivalry between the two, that’s for sure, so it would no doubt make for great viewing.