Emmerdale finally revealed Joe Tate’s illness tonight (Monday, March 17) as he plotted to get the organ transplant he needs to save his life. As many had suspected, Joe is suffering from kidney disease, and needs a transplant to save his life.
And, with time running out, Joe has his sights set on a donor – and he’s not planning on asking first.
Elsewhere, Ruby managed to find Steph. And, as she returned to the village, John and Chas clashed over her decision to go to the police.
Meanwhile, Mack was suspicious of Ross, and Manpreet shared an awkward moment with Billy.
Here’s everything that happened on Emmerdale tonight.
Joe rejected Dawn in Emmerdale tonight
As the morning began, Joe started the day off as he had so many others – making a mysterious phone call. “Tomorrow? No, it needs to be today,” he insisted, time running out for… whatever his secret is.
Just then, Billy entered, on his way to a ‘brisk 10k.’ He observed that Joe had been at the bottle of brandy that he’d supposedly brought back for Kim. Declining Billy’s invite to join him for a run, Joe opted instead to stay at home, and flirt with the man’s wife. Well, it was mutual – and Dawn had already changed her tune after turning him down yesterday.
She tried to re-book, but he was busy all day… doing Joe stuff. In his room, he was busy fiddling with his mystery case when Dawn entered, in a randy mood. As she continued to brush off his excuses, he snapped, calling her ‘needy.’
“I’m worth more than this!” Dawn exclaimed, and flounced off. Job done, Joe returned to his suitcase – which, as some have suspected, contained a dialysis machine. Later, he informed Doctor Crowley that he hadn’t been keeping up with his treatment. Finally, we learned what’s wrong with Joe – he has chronic kidney disease.
Joe plotted his next move as his illness was revealed
As Joe underwent Dialysis with Crowley at his side, he told the Doctor that he’d found a donor. Doctor Crowley was dubious, telling Joe that they didn’t want a repeat of the limo crash. Here, Joe confirmed that he’d spiked Noah, and that their attempt at a transplant had been a failure.
But he had another donor in mind now – another blood relative, and not necessarily a willing one. “This way they don’t see me coming,” he said, poo-pooing the idea of asking them first.
Who does Joe have lined up next?
Steph turned up – and set John and Chas at loggerheads
In the cafe, a distracted Caleb continued to try and reach Steph over the phone. Ruby was taking a surprisingly laid-back approach to her daughter’s disappearance, encouraging Caleb to ‘stop catastrophising’ and give her some time.
As Caleb fretted, Jai arrived, demanding to know why he and Steph hadn’t been to work. Caleb was quick to remind him that Jai was his employee, and not paid to nag nor poke his nose into his home life.
As they chatted about Anthony’s legacy, Ruby suddenly realised where exactly Steph might be. Sure enough, she was in the woods, at Anthony’s makeshift grave.
Caleb informed the Anthony cover-up committee that Ruby had found Steph, and John re-iterated that she should never have been told in the first place. The tension between him and Chas was palpable and, as Ruby ushered Steph home, Chas reassured her that she had nothing to apologise for.
She wouldn’t be sticking around though – she had plans to go to the police. She’d devised a plan to tell them that Anthony had been in touch, and was now driving around in Spain, living his best life.
Cain was dubious, but, as the one who reported him missing in the first place, Steph felt a duty to shut the investigation back down.
John, Cain and her parents tried to shut her down, but Chas was more open to the idea. The group managed to talk Steph out of the idea, averting another disaster… for now.
Tensions grew between Chas and John
As they shared lunch, Chas and Aaron mulled over the day’s events. Worried about her son after all that had gone on with Steph, she wanted to check in and make sure he was feeling okay. Aaron grew emotional, recalling his own abuse at the hands of dad Gordon.
Just then, John arrived home to a tense welcome from Chas. Tensions between the pair continued to grow as they clashed over what had happened with Steph earlier. Can Aaron smooth things over between his mum and his boyfriend?
Jai knows something is amiss
In an attempt to find a sense of normality, Caleb and Steph returned to work, where Jai continued to poke and prod. He cornered Billy, asking him whether he’d noticed anything unusual between the pair.
“Something is going on, and I’m going to find out what,” he asserted. Look out, detective Jai is on the case.
Mack was suspicious of Ross
Mack looked on as Ross flaunted his flash new ride, casting aspersions as to where he’d got the cash for it. While Mack nagged him about his peculiar job of parking (sure, just chuck it in the middle of the road), Ross shrugged him off with a signature quip: “go polish your tractor.” Ouch.
Ross found Steph in the Woolpack later. He was confused by how distant she’d been acting towards him. He tried to tell her how much she cared for him, but she cut him out, telling him she wanted to end things.
Ross returned home to find Mack with PC Swirling at the kitchen. They informed him that there’d been a spate of robberies in the area, and someone had been stealing farm equipment from neighbouring old man Dunstable.
Nagging again, Ross quickly insinuated that Ross might have been behind the robberies. Ross denied the accusation, but Mack clearly has his suspicions.
Manpreet’s blackmail continued in Emmerdale tonight
Manpreet looked stressed as she collected a coffee from The Hide, with a message on her phone demanding five grand for their silence. Walking out, she bumped into Billy, who remarked on her troubled expression.
She noticed that he had a nasty cut on his leg, and got down on her knees then and there to look over the wound. While he insisted that the gigantic gash on his leg was nothing to worry about, she rushed him to the surgery so she could patch it up.
Dropping him off at home after his impromptu appointment (while some of in the country are waiting weeks to see a GP!) Manpreet received another threatening text, telling her to meet by 16:30 the next day, with the cash.
Tensions simmered as they shared an awkward goodbye, only to be interrupted by Dawn who made a snide remark about the doctor’s crush on her husband after she’d gone. Still sulking about being spurned by Joe earlier, she reassured him that she loved him – only making things more awkward.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYHtZwSQdDY?si=uZOLDOA8DmOy2bt4]
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
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