Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) is hiding a secret about his health in Emmerdale, but fans of the ITV soap have seemingly worked out what’s wrong with him.
The much-loved – but certainly troublesome – character returned to the village over Christmas.
He was revealed as the third person involved in Peter and Will’s (Dean Andrews) plan to destroy Kim Tate (Claire King), but that took an unexpected turn when Will suddenly suffered a heart attack and d.i.e.d.
On Boxing Day, Emmerdale delivered a twist that saw confirmation Joe was hiding something. He was seen in a considerable amount of pain, and had to take tablets to help the symptoms ease.
Since then, Joe has been involved in a storyline with Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley). While focus has been on her and the aftermath of Will, we have continued to occasionally see Joe struggle on his own, and consume medication to feel better.
Yesterday, Kim approached Joe at Home Farm and wondered just what he’s up to.
She had witnessed a difficult interaction between him and brother Noah (Jack Downham), who wanted to hang out and go to the football.
Joe had been told by Ross (Michael Parr) to leave Noah alone so yesterday, when he mentioned the game tickets, Joe had no choice but to lie and say they were no longer available.
He told Kim that he’s being ‘strategic’ in his plan and playing ‘the long game’, suggesting Ross’ warning hasn’t exactly sunk in.
With Joe busy trying to rebuild connections with his family in the village, and experiencing health problems at the same time, it has left many fans of the ITV soap wondering if he’s doing it for a particular reason.
These two points, along with seeing Joe clutching his stomach in a scene earlier in the week, has got people thinking he may need someone to donate an organ to him.
On social media platform X, this fan wrote: ‘I wonder if Joe needs a organ from Noah’, while another said: ‘Joe needs Noah’s kidney!’.
In upcoming episodes, Dawn will find Joe slumped in his car down a country path.
Is this where she discovers the secret he’s been hiding?
