Billy Fletcher’s (Jay Kontzle) foray into illegal fighting in Emmerdale was always going to carry huge consequences, he just didn’t realise they would be for Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).
Billy fell down the dark path of unlicenced boxing to try and cover for his and Dawn’s (Olivia Bromley) financial woes. He’s been struggling with the fact he cannot easily provide for his family and decided to go to great pains to right that wrong.
His guilt over not being able to pay the electricity bill, and for his kids to have to share an old laptop to do their homework one at a time has been weighing heavily on his soul.
But his decision to step into the underworld of fighting will put more people in danger than he could have ever imagined. Mack Boyd (Lawrence Robb), Aaron, and John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) are all now involved, and Dawn is unwittingly at risk as well.
It was a bit of a shock to see Ross Barton (Michael Parr) back on the scene as Billy’s opponent and it was even more of a shock when Billy came back from a beating to win the fight against him.
This shock was biggest for Jade, who does not take kindly to her match going against her plans.
Ross is terrified when Jade and her heavies jump him. She dishes him a few choice words about a rematch before pushing him over the bridge.
Billy later finds Jade having a cosy cup of tea with Dawn and he takes it as the message Jade intended – his family is in big danger.
So now he and Ross must have a rematch. Then he learns Clemmie and Lucas are missing, he realises just how trapped he is. Things have got serious.
Ross arranges for the fight to take place at Butlers Farm in a barn and Mack brings Aaron along in case things go wrong.
Things go Pete Tong pretty quickly when John arrives to warn that the police are on their way. Jade and her crew do not plan on getting caught, and they also won’t leave without their money.
In the furore of the police arriving, a frantic Deano can’t find the money. Angry and panicked, Deano punches Aaron and flees the police.
The punch has a devastating effect on Aaron, who is left struggling for air. Unable to breathe, he collapses. This is the result of Billy’s poor life choices. But even with John on hand, can Aaron be saved?
