Emmerdale spoilers follow.
Emmerdale's Joe Tate has sparked suspicion following Will Taylor's death.
Joe returned to the village on Christmas Day as part of his scheme to take Kim Tate down, after she tried to kill him six years ago.
Will was initially in on Joe's plan, unknowingly believing Jamie Tate was pulling the strings through an intermediary. However, Will realised he was still in love with Kim and decided he didn't desire revenge after all, and instead wanted to make their marriage work.
After Joe arrived at Home Farm and exposed their plot, Will suffered from agonising chest pains in the show's Christmas Day cliffhanger.
Kim initially accused her husband of faking his symptoms for sympathy, then thought he was having a panic attack rather than a heart attack. However, she soon realised that Will was in urgent need of medical attention.
What to Read Next
Related: Best film and TV tours for 2025
She called 999, and tried to save his life while an ambulance was en route. However, when the emergency services arrived and took over from Kim, they quickly pronounced Will dead.
Tonight's (December 27) episode saw Joe collapse next to his bed in severe pain, while Kim struggled to come to terms with Will's death at Home Farm.
Lydia visited Home Farm with some food for the grieving family, with Kim assuring her friend that she was "fine".
Meanwhile, Dawn told her husband Billy that she was "worried" about Kim, who had performed chest compressions on Will with the intent of saving his life.
"At least someone who loved him was with him at the end," Dawn acknowledged, before sharing her sadness over not being with her father during his final moments.
Related: Emmerdale's Marlon to face a backlash in April mystery
Later, Joe went to speak to his brother Noah, who wasn't pleased to see him, saying: "What the hell are you doing here? You ran, you let me think you were dead."
Joe revealed that his lack of contact had been for Noah's "protection", adding: "I got here on Christmas and I had to go and see Kim, and everything with Will happened. It's just been chaos."
A confused Jimmy overheard their conversation and asked what happened with Will, before Joe revealed the sad news that he had passed away. Jimmy was devastated by the loss of his friend, later breaking down in tears in the cafe.
After seeing Joe try to make amends with her son, Charity expressed her distrust, calling him a "cold-blooded manipulator".
"[Noah] didn't want you in his life because he knows exactly what you are. A ruthless liar who destroys innocent people to get what he wants," she said.
Joe assured Charity that he had changed, and was determined to prove her and Noah wrong.
Related: Emmerdale's Sarah Sugden to be left upset in Jacob storyline
Once Joe had walked away, Billy told Charity that Joe was there when Will had died, which he called a "strange coincidence" – although Charity wasn't so sure.
"Nothing's ever a coincidence where Joe Tate's concerned," she said.
Back at Home Farm, Joe – who had lied about the circumstances of Will's death to the police – urged Kim to "keep it together", before assuring her that he would take care of everything.
He also said that he'd "saved her" in lying about what happened and urged her to trust him.
Later, Billy warned Dawn that Joe might not be as helpful as he appears to be, after learning more about his shady history from Charity.
Billy told her about Joe's deception of Debbie by pretending to be someone else – all as part of Joe's own revenge plan on Charity, who he blamed for his dad Chris's death.
"He's a wrong'un, some of the stuff he's done is just off the scale. He's devious," he said.
Billy then revealed that Kim had tried to have Joe murdered, adding: "Something's off, like, really off. Dawn, I have never seen your dad and Kim happier. The vow renewal, beautiful.
"And then he turns up and our whole world is turned upside down."
"You think he murdered my dad?" a worried Dawn then asked.
What are Joe's true motives for coming back – and will his plans soon be uncovered?
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
