Young TJ Woods is currently taking a central role in Classic Emmerdale episodes currently airing on ITV3. Fans are watching as he has been rushed to hospital after contracting E-coli.
It is a frightening watch as he fights for his life, but viewers can breathe easy knowing he survives the ordeal.
With those emotional scenes back on screen, it has got many asking the same question. What happened to TJ after that terrifying health scare? Where is he now? And could Emmerdale ever bring him home?
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TJ’s birth in Emmerdale
Terry Junior is the son of Dawn and Terry Woods. He arrived in October 2003, but his start in life was far from straightforward. Dawn had contracted German measles while pregnant, raising fears TJ might be deaf. Thankfully, tests later confirmed that was not the case.
Drama followed almost immediately. While celebrating TJ’s birth, Terry suffered a stroke and collapsed. Once home from hospital, Dawn found herself caring for both a recovering husband and a newborn.
Things soon unravelled further when Dawn began an affair with her stepbrother Scott Windsor. When Terry discovered the betrayal, he threw her out and a bitter custody battle over TJ began.
Dawn planned to take TJ to Spain to see her mum Jean and warned Terry he would never see his son again. Terry alerted the police in a bid to stop her leaving the country. Despite the drama, Dawn was eventually granted sole custody.
What happened to TJ in Emmerdale?
Tragedy struck when TJ was just two and a half. His mum Dawn was killed in the devastating King’s River show home explosion, which also claimed the life of Noreen Bell.
While Dawn’s dad Bob, brother Jamie and ex Terry wanted justice, Dawn’s mum Jean chose to accept compensation from the Kings. Against Bob and Terry’s wishes, she fled to Morocco with TJ.
Terry eventually tracked them down and brought TJ back to the village. But the youngster struggled deeply without his mum. In April 2008, he contracted E-coli and there were fears he might suffer lasting kidney damage. Thankfully, he made a full recovery.
More heartbreak followed. At seven years old, TJ was orphaned when Terry died in a fire. With Viv also losing her life in the blaze, Bob was left raising Cathy and Heath alone. It was decided TJ would return to Morocco to live with Jean.
Bob and Brenda said an emotional goodbye at the airport. In 2012, Brenda visited TJ and returned suggesting she believed he might be gay. Since then, he has barely been mentioned.
TJ’s future in Emmerdale
Tony Audenshaw, who plays Bob, admitted last year that he is unsure what lies ahead for his character. And with Bob having endured loss after loss, a family return could be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Tony reflected on Bob’s turbulent few years. He has lost business partner Bernice, seen Wendy have an affair, suffered a cardiac arrest in the street, and tragically lost his son Heath. More recently, Cathy and Brenda left the village for a round-the-world cruise.
Bob is now single and somewhat adrift. “There’s not been room for many laughs, because it’s a bit inappropriate. He’s got no partner at the moment, so maybe something might happen there. But I really don’t know what they’ve got planned for me. I’d love to do a bit more comedy,” Tony said.
Why now could be the perfect time for TJ to return
TJ would now be 22, which gives Emmerdale a real opportunity to reintroduce him as a fully formed adult character, much like they did with Joe Tate after he left as a child and returned years later.
If Brenda’s suspicions were right and TJ is gay, he would be around the right age to become a potential love interest for Arthur Thomas, or even shake things up in a love triangle with Vinny Dingle and Lewis Barton.
If not, he could offer someone like Gabby a fresh storyline at a time when she could use one. TJ and Belle were also friends, so that’s another avenue to explore.
Either way, with Bob at a loose end and Classic Emmerdale reminding viewers just how much TJ has been through, the timing feels spot on. A return would not just revisit the past, it could shape the future too.
