Emmerdale fans have been left baffled after an integral character was missing from a recent episode.

Last night’s scenes saw some of the villagers gather at home Farm to celebrate Lydia Dingle’s (Karen Blick) 50th birthday, but the birthday girl herself was nowhere to be seen.

As the celebrations kicked off, Sam Dingle (James Hooton) was disappointed to learn that Lydia was having car trouble and was delayed in getting to the event.

Taking to social media, fans couldn’t believe that Lydia wasn’t in the episode that was centred around her big day.

‘Can someone explain to me why Lydia isn’t even at her own 50th?’ One fan wrote on Twitter/X, while another questioned: ‘Where the bloody hell is Lydia and why does no one care?’

‘Where is Lydia though?’ A third asked, while a fourth added: ‘Is Lydia the Birthday girl going to appear?’

Another fan found the situation hilarious, writing: ‘The true winner of this party is Lydia [because] imagine being so iconic that your 50th was talked about and you weren’t even there.’

Lydia missed out on all the drama by not being at her own party, as Joe Tate’s (Ned Porteous) secrets and lies were exposed to the shocked guests.

In true Emmerdale fashion, the episode ended with Joe in a bad way after being pushed out of a window – but who did the deed?