At the end of Tuesday’s (May 14) visit to Emmerdale we saw Ethan Anderson (Emile John) hiding out in a barn.
He’d just been released on bail after being questioned by the police over the accident that left Nicky Milligan (Lewis Cope) in a coma, but rather than returning to the village, he decided to lie low for a while.
This is probably a sensible move, as there are plenty of people in Emmerdale who are baying for Ethan’s blood.
Ethan decided to drive Nicky when he needed to get to Suni (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana), who was in a club and terrified after seeing the men who attacked him last year.
Nicky had been drinking heavily, drowning his sorrows after an argument with his dad, Caleb (William Ash), so Ethan offered to drive even though he’d also had a couple of drinks.
On a remote road, Ethan lost control of the vehicle and it crashed. He pulled a badly injured Nicky out of the car.
Seeing that Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb) was arriving he knew that she’d take care of Nicky so he ran away, worried that his career as a lawyer would be over if he was found to have been driving over the alcohol limit.
Soon his guilt got the better of him and he told his dad, Charles (Kevin Mathurin), what had happened and asked him to provide an alibi. Instead, Charles decided the right thing to do was call the police, and soon Ethan was arrested.
In this episode, he was questioned by police, who told him that dashcam footage from the car showed him running away. Ethan insisted he’d been going for help, but as he never returned this was not a very plausible defence. He was released on bail while the police enquiries continued.
Meanwhile, Ruby (Beth Cordingly) and Caleb were exhausted with worry about Nicky, whose condition is still critical, and fumed about Ethan. Caleb tried ringing the police for information but they wouldn’t tell him anything.
Then Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker) and Charles came into the cafe where Ruby and Caleb had been taking a break before going back to the hospital.
Caleb was furious with Charles, telling him that he was disgusted by the fact that Ethan had come to the hospital with Suni to see Nicky in full knowledge that he was the reason Nicky was lying in the hospital bed. ‘Your son is a coward,’ he told the vicar.
Charles told Caleb and Ruby that he’d been the one to turn Ethan in to the police, which was something that Caleb could respect. He had no respect for Ethan, however, and insisted, ‘Ethan’s going to pay for what he did.’
As well as Caleb, Ethan also needs to worry about Ruby and Cain (Jeff Hordley), who have both also pledged revenge for what happened to Nicky.
Upcoming episodes will see Ethan facing retribution when he’s the victim of a deliberate hit and run. But with so many people out to get him, who’s responsible?
