Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) is continuing to grow worried about his father Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) in Emmerdale.

In recent weeks, Bear’s behaviour has changed. Shortly after he began fixing an old bike at Cain Dingle’s (Jeff Hordley) garage, Bear snapped at Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah). He grabbed the young man and shouted at him, a move that left Paddy concerned.

Yesterday, Paddy was surprised once again when Bear announced his plans to depart the village temporarily. He spoke about an old wrestling friend in Ireland and how he wants to fix his bike so he can go and see him.

Paddy, thinking this would benefit his dad a fair bit, was happy for him, but his mood changed when Bear revealed he’d be gone for 2-3 months.

The fear that something is going on with his father continued for Paddy in tonight’s episode. When he briefly popped home, he found Bear and Eve playing together. It was a sweet scene but not for very long, as Paddy told his dad that Eve was meant to be at school.

Bear had no recollection of this conversation and claimed that Paddy did not tell him to take the young girl to school. As Paddy sent Eve to her bedroom for her uniform, there was concern on his face. It was very clear his dad was changing, he just didn’t know why.

In The Hide, Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) happened to spot Paddy looking worried. He opened up about his dad and his sudden mood swings, and it reminded her of the period just before the Thomas family knew Ashley had dementia.

Paddy pondered over the thought of his dad also having this, and tried to tell Bear that it might be a good idea to book a doctor’s appointment. Sadly, Bear remained set in his ways. As far as he was concerned, there was absolutely nothing wrong with him.

When Gabby approached, Paddy explained that he couldn’t persuade Bear. She then gave him food for thought, telling Paddy that it’s very possible to do some online memory tests with Bear and just not actually tell him.

Given how often Bear’s anger reaches the surface at the moment it is a risk, but Paddy is terribly worried.

Will the tests help?