Emmerdale’s Joe Tate hiding dark secret as shock d.e.a.t.h rocks Kim Tate
The businessman returned after six years on the run from Kim's d.e.a.t.h threat
EMMERDALE’S Joe Tate is hiding a dark secret after his shock return to the village.
The schemer – who is played by actor Ned Porteous in the ITV soap – arrived at Home Farm to take revenge on step-grandmother Kim Tate with a scheme with her husband Will Taylor.
However that took a turn when Will suffered a heart attack in front of a disbelieving Kim.
Continuing the recreation of her iconic scene from 1997 when she cooly watched husband Frank die of a heart attack, Kim touched up her make-up convinced Will was just having a panic attack.
But the return of Joe to Home Farm showed her that Will was having a heart attack.
She sprang into action and tried to save Will, calling for an ambulance and performing CPR on him.
Begging him to breathe again and promising they could fight when he was back but it was all for nothing.
The paramedics arrived to take over but they couldn’t save him and Dawn walked in to find them pronouncing Will dead.
Devastated Kim could barely form words until the police arrived with questions and when she couldn’t answer what happened, Joe stepped in and lied.
He claimed Will died quickly and Kim immediately jumped into action to save him.
Later while they were alone Kim demanded to know why Joe lied to cover for her.
“You stood there watching him die and did nothing,” he said as he tried to manipulate her, insisting he was on her side.
Taking advantage of Kim’s weakened state, Joe told her to keep quiet and keep everything a secret.
He left and went back to a hotel room where it was revealed he was hiding something himself.
Beginning to suffer some sort of issue, he rushed to a bag and pulled out one of many packets of medication before taking two pills quickly.
But what is Joe hiding?
Actor Ned Porteous teased: “There’s a lot of unfinished business for Joe, and it feels like the right time for him to make a comeback.
“Joe has always been a character with a dark side, but there could be something much bigger at play here.
“Joe is back for a reason, and the devastation at Home Farm is just the beginning of a much bigger story.
“It’s safe to say the audience can expect fireworks this holiday season!”
Producer, Laura Shaw, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Ned back to Village as the complex and captivating Joe Tate.
“From the moment Joe arrives on screen, it’s clear there’s trouble ahead but Joe’s hiding an even darker secret that could see 2025 start off with a huge bang.”