Emmerdale viewers are bracing for explosive fallout as Joe Tate’s future hangs in the balance — and it seems his enemies are closing in fast.

In a tense episode, Ruby and Caleb Miligan subtly encouraged two familiar faces to finally take matters into their own hands and seek revenge against Joe, whose manipulative actions have left a long trail of resentment.

Things took a darker turn when Charity Dingle confronted Ruby, attempting to warn her about Joe’s shady past and potential for destruction. But the real shock came when Ruby revealed she wasn’t as clueless as she pretended — hinting she might be playing a deeper game than anyone realised.

With multiple characters now circling and secrets coming to light, Joe’s reign in the village may soon come to a brutal end. The question is: who will strike first?

“I’ve got my eye on him. Big time,” Charity told Ruby, who seemed to be in the know about Joe’s duplicitous ways.

Pressed by Charity, Ruby almost validated her suspicions about Joe being responsible for Noah’s spiking. Afraid she’d revealed too much, Ruby left the pub before she could say something she’d regret.

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Charity then followed Ruby home, begging her to tell her the truth about her son’s spiking.

“I am convinced Joe is involved somehow, okay, but I just don’t have the proof,” Charity said.

Ruby hesitated, saying Joe would destroy her family if she said anything. Charity didn’t budge, insisting she wanted Joe gone “more than anything”, particularly as Noah had grown closer to him.

“Whatever you do to him, that lies firmly on your shoulders,” Ruby made her promise, before confirming that Joe had spiked Noah.

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Charity put two and two together, working out that Ruby’s husband Caleb had lost a kidney when he was stabbed and rescued by Joe.

Furious, Charity also looked back on the night of the double limo car crash, blaming Joe for spiking Noah and setting in motion the chain of events that would lead to the accident.

“Three people have d!ed because of this,” Charity said, before she and Ruby agreed to keep their chat a secret.

Elsewhere, Billy Fletcher vented about Dawn’s infidelity with Caleb, who was eager to redirect his anger at Joe.

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Caleb manipulated Billy, encouraging him to take things into his own hands and potentially hurt Joe.

“If I was you, I’d be out for blood,” Caleb said.

Later on at the pub, Charity and Billy were mulling over what they’d discovered about Joe. Before they could share their new intel, Joe entered with Noah, gloating about the great time they’d spent with Billy and Dawn’s daughter, Clemmie, at the riding centre.

Ruby and Caleb looked on from a nearby table, enjoying a drink and discussing their “productive” day. Ruby told her husband she nudged a friend “in the right direction”, while Caleb said he “convinced someone to do the heavy lifting” for him.

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Charity and Billy are two key players in the whodunnit centred on Joe, a storyline that will see the scheming villain getting att@cked. Nine characters in total, including Ruby and Caleb, could be involved as each has a very good reason to want rid of Joe.

“Joe Tate’s presence at Home Farm has inevitably reignited old feuds,” reads the logline for the big story.

“He’s created a raft of new enemies, setting the stage for what promises to be an explosive confrontation.”

It continues: “Joe has wasted no time in ruffling feathers and fuelling dangerous rivalries which have been simmering for weeks… As Joe’s enemies converge, the question isn’t if someone will seek revenge, but who will strike first?”