What happened in Emmerdale tonight: Moira arrested after Samson ‘snitch-up’

It’s been messing up the soap schedules… but is football finally coming home? Let’s just say it stands a much, much better chance than poor Matty Barton after his family’s latest desperate attempt to get him out of jail in Emmerdale tonight.

Emmerdale tonight: Moira a Mob boss in the making

In Thursday’s hour-long visit to the Dales, Moira (played by Natalie J Robb) couldn’t bear what’s happening to her son and decided to go all Glasweegie gangster – with what appeared to be EastEnders bad boys Grant and Phil Mitchell tucked down her top for moral support – on Samson’s ass.

She and Mack ‘escorted’ Samson from the Dingles’ place to Butlers’ farm, where they ‘encouraged’ him to tell the police the truth that Josh attacked Matty, in an attempt to get him off and get him to safety.

Moira motioned to (albeit half-heartedly) strangle the teen Dingle, before he agreed to the plan.

“I won’t forget this, you’re saving Matty’s life,” she told Samson, as he insisted on heading into the cop shop alone, after his aunt insisted on driving him there.

RED ALERT MOIRA! RED ALERT!

Later, the police arrived and Moira and Mack were in shock to discover what all viewers had figured out 15 minutes earlier – snivelling Samson had doubled crossed her!

The local plod arrested M & M on suspicion of kidnapping and imprisonment – and Mamma Barton once again reminded us why she’s a soap icon as she calmly kissed her boys goodbye as though she was heading out to buy bread.

With Matty now looking even more like he’s toast.

Friends with baggage

Elsewhere, there was a refreshingly grown-up conversation between exes Charles and Manpreet as they opened up about why their relationship actually started to go wrong a long time ago – and agreed it was lovely they could be friends. Before then ending up in bed together.

Charles couldn’t wait to make his exit afterwards as doe-eyed Manpreet said, “I’ll see you again soon then for a drink… or something.” The look on her face suggested that ‘something’ she had in mind isn’t Scrabble.

Friend-ing with benefits with the grieving ex that harshly dumped her… what could possibly go wrong?

Kim’s kindness an awful foreshadowing?

There was more anxious pacing at Home Farm as gravely ill baby Evan was admitted to hospital with an infection. Dawn was on the warpath convinced that husband Billy was to blame after he supposedly returned home from a job in Bristol, bringing with him the offending germs.

Thankfully only Kim knew that job in Bristol was actually a booze-up with Nate and, as Dawn took Billy on a very long guilt trip, Kim stepped in to suggest she had brought the infection about after meeting a client.

Dawn branded her stepmother selfish and stupid before spitting cryptically, “She’s not getting away with this.”

In another room, meanwhile, Kim assured Billy: “Let her have a big rant about the big, bad witch. She can shout and scream at me all she likes. It’ll all calm down once Evan is better.”

Will the words ‘once Evan is better’ come back to haunt her – and tear the family apart?

What did you think of Emmerdale tonight?

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm. 

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.