Joe Tate’s (Ned Porteous) underhanded scheme to get Butler’s Farm in his clutches is dangerously close to being exposedby Emmerdale’s acid-tongued Queen, Kim Tate (Claire King).
It’s easy to forget just how villainous Joe can be. It was only last December when we had out-and-out evildoers like Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) and Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) causing misery in the village, while the only secret plan Joe had over Christmas was propose to Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley).
Make no mistake. The conniving trust fund baby is on the top of his devilish game driven by one thing and one thing alone – greed.
When Kim Tate enlisted his help to purchase all the land surrounding Home Farm, Joe ruthlessly set his sights on acquiring Butler’s Farm by any means necessary; including blackmailing Victoria Sugden (Isobel Hodgins) over killing her own brother in self-defence, and manipulating Robert Sugden into framing Moira Barton (Natalie J Robb) for the crimes of drug-dealing people-trafficker Celia.
This meant making an enemy of Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), who was obviously none-too-pleased about his wife serving a lengthy sentence behind bars – especially when he is secretly battling with a prostate cancer diagnosis.
The angriest man in the Dales did not take kindly to pressure from Joe to sell his wife’s home and business, so retaliated in true Dingle style by stealing the millionaire’s prized DeLorean car. Responding in kind, Joe set a trap by leaving another flashy motor parked in the village as bait only to catch Cain on camera when he tried to steal it.
With Cain caught red-handed and facing jail time, the diabolical Mister Tate made him an offer he literally couldn’t refuse – sell Butler’s farm. After an emotional visit to Moira in prison where he confessed everything, Cain had no choice but to throw in the towel and accept his wife’s decision to give up the farm.
In case that wasn’t enough drama, the Tate’s plans for Machiavellian were disrupted last month by a shocking return from the dead – Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), Joe’s mentor and Kim’s (third) ex-husband. He disapproves of the Tates cut-throat approach to expanding their business and is convinced that there must be a better way, which is why Joe has been playing his cards close to his chest.
Smart move. While Kim is all for building the Tate empire, she’s already expressed disapproval at Joe’s bully boy tactics and warned him to stop pushing Moira to sell the farm while she’s dealing with the aftermath of Celia’s crimes.
However, Joe did not heed Kim’s warning, and the Queen of Home Farm has been totally in the dark about her nefarious step-grandson’s role in putting Moira behind bars… until now.
In upcoming Emmerdale episodes, Kim’s suspicions boil over as she presses Joe to confess.
After reluctantly agreeing to move in with the Dingles, Cain is in a sour mood as he drinks with his family, when all of a sudden, Joe walks in and offers Lydia Dingle (Karen Blick) a pay rise.
The Dingles are instantly suspicious, but not as much as an observing Kim. What is Joe up to?
Wondering why Joe’s being so nice to her favourite employee and all-time bestie, Kim confronts him later in the week and pressures him into coming clean until Joe finally admits something that rocks her to the core…
