Emmerdale has revealed the extent of Joe Tate’s scheme to force Cain Dingle to sell the remaining half of Butler’s Farm as Moira is still behind bars. The ITV soap previously saw Joe blackmailing Robert and Victoria Sugden into selling their shares, with Joe putting pressure on Cain ever since.

For his part, a strapped-for-cash Cain recently teamed up with his granddaughter Sarah to steal some cars. Sarah is the only one in Cain’s family to know about his prostate cancer diagnosis, while Moira continues being in the dark.

In tonight’s (5 March) scenes, Joe devised a plan to catch Cain red-handed after he suspected the mechanic had stolen his previous car.

Joe flaunted his shiny new wheels, parking right in front of the garage as he stopped for a drink at the Woolpack. Concerned about Gabby Thomas cancelling her beef order from Butler’s Farm as per Joe’s recommendation, Cain considered stealing some more cars, starting with Joe’s new ride.

Instructed by Cain, Kammy Hadiq headed to the Woolpack and distracted Joe by knocking over his drink. As the two argued over who was responsible, Cain swiftly intervened and swiped Joe’s car keys.

Cain worked quickly and sold the hot car. Upon his return to the garage, a smug Joe walked over.

Phone in hand, Joe showed off the extra perks coming with his car, including remote tracking and covert internal cameras “should the worst happen”. He had one more surprise in store for Cain, playing him a video that identified him as the car thief.

There was but one thing that Cain could do if he wanted to avoid jail, Joe explained as he insisted the mechanic had no choice now but to sell him Moira’s half of the farm.

“It’s not for sale,” Cain said.

“I think it might be,” Joe replied, pointing at the video on his phone.

An overwhelmed Cain punched Joe right as Dawn passed by, who rushed to help her partner. Dawn wanted to call the police, but Joe said he’d follow her advice from earlier in the day and go easy on Cain for once.

Alone with Cain, Joe told him to think of his kids and see reason, offering him a “fair price” for his shares.

After witnessing the conversation between him and Joe, Graham Foster paid a visit to Cain.

“I don’t agree with his methods here, but Joe’s not messing about,” warned Graham, who knew about Cain’s diagnosis. “You need to admit defeat before it’s too late.”

“Just take the offer,” Graham continued. “You’ve got more important things to focus on. Have you told Moira yet about your diagnosis?”

Cain kicked him out, but appeared to mull over what Graham had just said.

“Don’t dig your own grave, Cain,” Graham added before walking out. “You’ll quickly learn it’s almost impossible to get out.”