Emmerdale has aired a worrying update on Pete Barton, five years after he waved goodbye to the village.

Pete, who was played by Anthony Quinlan, left in February 2020 to start a new life after feeling there was nothing left for him in the Dales.

Now the character has been mentioned onscreen again, as part of Joe Tate’s twisted plot to secure a kidney.

Joe, who is seriously ill with chronic kidney disease, is planning to take his uncle Caleb Miligan’s kidney without his consent after finding out he is a match.

Dr Crowley is set to help Joe pull off the outrageous plan, with the devious pair putting the wheels in motion tonight (March 25).

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On tonight’s episode, Ross was keeping an eye on Joe after being given free rein of the estate by Kim.

Meanwhile, Dawn was excited to spend a night away with Joe where they could finally be alone together. But while Dawn was looking at places, Joe suddenly went cold on the idea.

He then told her he couldn’t do it and wanted to end their affair, as she was making it too intense.

In the Woolpack, Joe thanked Manpreet for her help and promised no one would ever know what she did.

Later, Ross went to speak to Kim and told her he’d seen Joe talking to Manpreet in the Woolpack. But Kim wasn’t impressed, as Ross still didn’t have anything concrete on Joe.

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Joe then had a secret meeting with Dr Crowley in his car to discuss their plan, but it was interrupted by Ross knocking on the window.

While Joe managed to get rid of Ross without having to reveal anything, Crowley said they would have to reschedule in case he followed them again tomorrow.

At the Woolpack, Ross told Charity he’d seen Joe talking to “some bloke” in a lay-by and that he’s sure something dodgy is going on.

But before he could do any more, Ross got a phone call telling him his brother Pete had been attacked.

A shocked Ross told Charity he’d have to leave straight away to go to Pete, while Joe looked on.

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Later, Dawn confessed to Kim that she’d been a “complete idiot” over Joe. Kim told Dawn she’d now been given a chance to give her marriage to Billy another shot, and she owed it to herself to try.

As the pair were talking, Joe walked in, causing Dawn to leave. Kim then told Joe that Dawn knows he’s been playing her and told him to do the right thing and leave her alone to sort out her marriage.

The episode ended with Joe telling Dr Crowley that Ross was now out of the picture.

But it was a little too late for Crowley, who had been spooked so badly by Ross that he now wanted an extra £50,000 to go through with the plan.

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Joe agreed to give him the money on the condition that they went through with the plan tomorrow without any more delays.

Ned Porteous – who plays Joe – recently spoke to Digital Spy and other media about what may have happened to Pete.

“Joe’s in a bit of a sticky situation, and he needs a kidney!” Ned said. “We never really know what Joe has done to Pete. We haven’t seen Pete for a long time.

“I think it’s fair to say that Joe would do anything to save his own life. I’m sure he’ll crack a few skulls, or some other people’s skulls, to do whatever he needs to do.”

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.