EMMERDALE dropped a bombshell on viewers last night with the return of a major villain.

As The Sun exclusively revealed earlier this month, soap bosses had been planning a massive reveal for the villain and they did not disappoint.

That came true when Joe Tate was unveiled as the mastermind behind the plot to bring Kim down.

He has been secretly pulling the strings of Kim’s business advisor Peter and even her own husband Will Taylor.

Original actor Ned Porteous has reprised his role after seven years away.

But there were clues to actor Ned’s return as Joe… did you spot them?

Ned returned to the UK

When he left Emmerdale in 2018, Ned made no secret of the fact he planned to try his hand in Hollywood.

He quickly landed roles in Netflix megahit Bridgerton and Disney Plus series Extraordinary.

However of late his roles have been on this side of the pond.

He’s starred in Doctor Who, Here We Go and Grantchester in the last two years.

Clearly he was just warming up for a big soap return.

He went quiet on Instagram

Nothing says ‘hiding big new role’ like an actor not posting on Instagram.

Ned went from posting shirtless videos of him climbing up walls, pictures of his pet cat Dave and snaps from his travels across the world to posting nothing in the last six months.

That’s one way of keeping his comeback quiet.

Hints in the scripts

The big mystery boss was said to be abroad – and Joe was last seen abroad.

Vengeful – Joe is probably the most Tate-like Tate after Kim herself and has more than proved himslf in those stakes before.

And he had Peter do his dirty work just like he did with Graham Foster.