HEARTBREAKING: Emmerdale favourite delivered DEVASTATING NEWS after quitting job before Christmas

Emmerdale’s Sam Dingle was upset (Image: ITV )

Emmerdale fans will be left sad for one favourite after quitting their job just days before Christmas.

Soap watchers will recall that only recently, Sam Dingle, played by James Hooton, was sacked by Joe Tate, played by Ned Porteous, after he resorted to stealing Home Farm’s Christmas trees for cash.

Sam and Belle Dingle, played by Eden Taylor-Draper, were desperately trying to raise funds to buy Sam’s wife Lydia Dingle’s cherished Jason Donovan concert tickets.

Sam hatched a plan to pilfer Christmas trees from Home Farm, calculating that if they sold 20 trees at £50 each, they could afford the concert tickets and fix the cottage’s electrics. Sam, who is the gamekeeper at Home Farm, assured a hesitant Belle that Kim Tate and Joe would never suspect him.

However, their scheme was foiled by none other than Joe. After arriving at Wishing Well Cottage, worried about the missing Christmas trees and threatening to involve the police, Joe quickly noticed some foliage outside and realised the pair were to blame. Later on, Joe confronted Sam and sacked him on the spot.

Joe Tate teased Sam Dingle (Image: ITV)

After Belle confronted Joe for firing Sam, pointing out their financial situation, he decided to give Sam back his job and even offered to give him overtime shifts to raise money for his family.

However, earlier this week, it was soon clear that Joe was punishing Sam as when the latter attempted to enjoy a day off, Joe insisted he repair a stone wall single-handedly. Unable to complete the task alone, Sam sought assistance from Cain Dingle at Butlers.

With his half-brother Cain absent, Sam confided in Matty Barton about his predicament. Matty, an employee on his mother Moira’s farm, immediately recognised that Joe was exploiting Sam.

Matty warned Sam that unless he confronted Joe about his unfair treatment, the situation would continue indefinitely. When Sam made his way back to Home Farm, a confrontation with Joe swiftly followed, resulting in him relinquishing his position.

On Tuesday’s episode, Sam got the wrong end of the stick and had assumed Matty and Moira had offered him a job on their farm. However, Matty admitted: “I didn’t offer you a job”, pointing out that if they had the money, they’d love to hire him, but they can’t and there is no job.

This news left Sam crushed as he went back to Home Farm, asking for his job back. Joe enjoyed making Sam squirm as he told him they no longer needed a gamekeeper, making him redundant, but due to the fact he had quit his role, he wouldn’t be getting his severance pay.

However, when Kim walked through Home Farm, Joe quickly changed his tune, offering Sam his job back, pointing out he had his advance to pay back. What has Joe got planned?

Later, Kim was left furious over Joe’s meddling, saying Sam and Lydia were extended family so he had to leave them alone… but will Joe listen to Kim’s demands?

Emmerdale continues on weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV and ITV X.