With all the focus on the huge limo lake stunt this week, who would have ever thought Emmerdale would be setting us up for an even bigger storyline going forward?

Emmerdale have done it again – a stunt week to remember!

We’ve come to expect nothing less from Emmerdale’s stunt weeks – drama, destruction and devastation. However, the ITV soap has truly outdone itself with an incredible icy lake stunt that ended in three d3aths (so far!).

Using the overflow car park at the village, the crew transformed an old piece of tarmac into an incredible icy lake that looked so realistic, I was genuinely fearful for each of the women – and Dr Liam – who stepped out onto that ice.

With ‘ice’ everywhere – and no way to escape – it seemed like all of them might lose their lives in a tragic twist of events on Valentine’s Day. Whilst we expected heartbreak and d3ath and tears, there was one thing I certainly wasn’t expecting!

Amy made a harrowing discovery ( 
Image:
ITV)

As Amy plunged down into the cold icy lake, I was expecting to see her die, or be pulled out and succumb to her injuries on top of the ice – but I was not expecting to see a floating hand belonging to none other than Nate Robinson.

Whilst Emmerdale has yet to confirm that it is Nate’s body under the ice, the clues it is seem quite obvious – including the same clothes he was last seen in and the same bracelet Frankie gave to him that says the word ‘daddy’ on it. Solid proof it must be Nate under that icy cold water – but when and how did he get there?!

Soaps are complex and intertwining – and probably confusing to a non-soap fan – but has anything been kept a better secret than this? Nate is d3ad and we NEVER knew! I didn’t even suspect it – and I certainly didn’t expect it to come about during stunt week!

A limo crash left multiple lives on the line ( 
Image:
ITV)
By closing this limo stunt chapter with a string of sad d3aths, Emmerdale could have left it there and focused on the village’s grieving for a while, how the d3aths affect the wider community and so on. A ‘lull’ after a stunt week is quite normal.

Instead, it has set us up for an even bigger storyline in the coming weeks and months. When will we find out what happened to Nate, and who k!lled him and why? We know of this d3ath – but what if there are more? Is there a new Meena Jutla in our midst?

Looking back at old episodes now, there have been hints about Nate’s real whereabouts for months – all that went completely over my head. When Cain sees him for the final time, he tells him he’d be happy if he never sees him again. Nate tells Frankie he won’t be able to see her for a long while, and calls and messages to Nate went unanswered, except for one.

When Tracy got in touch with Nate via text, he replied to say not to contact him again and he’d talk when he was ready. Could that have been someone else texting Tracy to warn her away – and if so, who?

Only time will tell – but it looks like a murderer could be closer to the villagers than we think…