Emmerdale fans expressed their disappointment as the storyline involving Joe Tate’s desperate quest for a kidney donor took a dark turn. The plot thickened in the Yorkshire Dales when Caleb Miligan became embroiled in a dangerous scheme that left him battling for his life.
Joe, who is currently dealing with chronic kidney failure, has been on the hunt for a suitable organ donor.Earlier this year, Joe drugged Noah Dingle in a failed attempt to secure his kidney through surgery. This plan backfired, leading to Noah causing a devastating limo crash that resulted in the deaths of Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough), Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson) and Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi).
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With assistance from local GP Manpreet, Joe discovered that Caleb Miligan could be a potential match and set his sights on the depot owner. Joe is related to Caleb, being the half-nephew of Caleb’s father Frank Tate, who is the half-brother of Joe’s father Christopher Tate.
Joe made his return to the fictional village at the end of last year, having been a regular cast member from 2017-2018, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The dramatic events unfolded during Thursday’s (March 27) episode, which saw Joe’s accomplice Shaun assault Caleb with a knife. As part of the plan, Joe stepped in to ‘save’ Caleb, but was taken aback when things didn’t go exactly as he had anticipated.
Upon finding Caleb in a more dire condition than anticipated, Joe immediately took him to his private doctor for medical attention. Dr. Crowley assessed the situation, stating, “There’s a decent chance he would’ve died before you even got him to the hospital” and also mentioned that potential kidney damage could not be ruled out at that point.
However, the storyline sparked discontent among viewers, given the current societal concerns about knife crime. Some expressed their discontent on social media, with one fan saying, “You are losing viewers and losing the damned plot ! It’s 7.35. Kids about and you are showing a stabbing. Sack the writers.”
Another critic stated, “This storyline now crossed the utterly ridiculous end unbelievable line now.”
The conversation continued on X, with more comments like: “In the light of the recent Adolescence show on Netflix, #emmerdale is sick to think they can broadcast knife crime on TV as a way of having a kidney transplant…” and “This whole episode and storyline about Joe and Caleb is messed up.”
Later in the episode, Caleb’s situation became increasingly critical as he underwent surgery, leaving fans anxiously wondering if he would pull through.
In another part of the storyline, Caleb’s daughter Steph was grappling with the devastating revelation about her real identity. This development followed the disturbing disclosure that Ruby Fox-Milligan had been a victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her father, Anthony Fox.
In a shocking plot twist, Anthony was unveiled as the true father of Ruby and Caleb’s daughter Steph, sending shockwaves through the story. Overwhelmed by the shock of learning her grandad was in fact her biological father, Ruby took the drastic step of murdering Anthony and enlisted the help of several villagers to bury his body in the forest.
Steph has recently found it difficult to process the grief of losing her grandfather, who she now understands was her real father. As Caleb hovered between life and death in an operating theatre, Steph and Ruby reminisced about happy childhood times, unaware of the gravity of Caleb’s condition, which remains undecided.
Viewers have been eager to heap praise on Beth Cordingly (Ruby), William Ash (Caleb) and Georgia Jay (Steph) for their convincing portrayal within this intense narrative. In early March, one fan penned: “Huge well done to Beth Cordingly, William Ash and Georgia Jay! ! Really outstanding scenes tonight in Steph’s discovery of the truth about Ruby’s past! Well done everyone tonight was really good.”
Others chimed in with comments like: “What an episode, what a family. 3 incredible characters and 3 incredible performances from Beth, Georgia, and William tonight (and every night). so grateful for this storyline and for them, they have my whole heart.”
