Well, that was quick! Emmerdale has wasted no time in resolving Joe Tate’s attack mystery, confirming the identity of the culprit in the show’s latest episode.

The week’s first visit to the Dales saw Dawn Fletcher confess to her estranged husband Billy, shortly after saving him by giving him a fake alibi.

With Billy being lined up as the police’s prime suspect, Dawn revealed that she’d stepped in to protect him because she knew he was innocent.

Billy asked how Dawn could be so sure, so she left him stunned by revealing that she was the one who pushed Joe out of an upstairs window at Home Farm.

We recently caught up with Olivia Bromley, who plays Dawn, for her first reaction to the bombshell storyline twist…

“I would say it’s a classic crime of passion, really! Dawn has given up everything for this man, which is a little bit silly. She’s now so overwhelmed by all this new information about him. The scales have fallen from her eyes and she’s seen the truth.

“When Dawn found out what Joe had done to Clemmie, I think it was that moment of lioness mother power.”

What unfolded between them in that showdown moment?

“You don’t see on screen what actually happened, but how I imagine it is that Dawn came in and tried to confront Joe, he turned on his manipulation and enough was enough.

“I think it was a pure accident. It wasn’t like, ‘I’m going to kill you’, it just happened. I’m so defensive of Dawn! It was an accidental push, basically, but it was because of the way he was acting to her.”

Does Dawn feel guilty?

“Yes! Dawn is constantly laden with guilt about everything. But on the other hand, Dawn is finding out all this stuff about this man, slowly and surely. He’s doing things that are so dangerous and Dawn has put her children around him.

“Joe is responsible for the death of three women in the limo crash, so Dawn is just horrified that she’s been close to this person. She’s just thinking, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?'”

“I thought it was the kind of thing she’d do! It’s quite interesting because she has just felt so infatuated by this man and she’s basically given up everything for him.

“As an actor, I thought we worked so hard for Dawn to have this stability and this relationship with a family that she loves, but I always think Dawn has that slight addict brain. So when she is infatuated by something or she’s obsessed, the addict comes out and she can’t help herself. That’s the same with Joe.

“With that in mind, Dawn doing the push was frustration at herself as well.”

Did you worry that Dawn’s days could be numbered?

“I think with Dawn, constantly the days could be numbered in many ways! She’s murdered someone before – she killed Malone, but that was self defence.

“Whenever Dawn does something that’s really terrible, I think there’s always a heart behind it. Even though it seems like Dawn is being really cruel to Billy at the moment, she’s not a vindictive, evil person. That’s what’s quite interesting with her being with someone like Joe, who does have that streak of malice and evil.

“I thought it was more of a crime of passion, but whether she’ll go down for it, I don’t know…”

How does Billy react to the revelation of Dawn’s guilt?

“Billy and Dawn have this history where they’re quite a good unit and they come together. So they form a little bit of an alliance to protect each other. But obviously Billy’s been massively betrayed by this woman, so will he ever trust her again?”

Is Dawn worried that Joe might want revenge if he survives?

“Dawn is worried about that, but her main concern is to protect her family. The biggest thing she might lose is her children if she’s been involved in a violent crime like this and potentially killed someone. She is very, very worried about losing the children.

“That’s the constant thing running through Dawn – she messes up but then panics and hates herself for what she’s done. She’s constantly having to scrabble to keep this family together. She’s got a lot to lose. After everything she’s built, she could be in prison just like that.”

Was it fun to be part of a big soap whodunit?

“It was really fun. It was like a heightened Cluedo-y storyline. It was nice to be dressed up, and Home Farm is an amazing set to be the backdrop to it. There’s a slight campness to the drama of Home Farm, which is fun to do.

“A classic whodunit is really fun, and everyone involved was really fun to work with.”

Could the stress of this situation cause Dawn to relapse with the drugs?

“That is always hanging over Dawn as an option. It’s a really sad thing that, as much as she tries to get everything together, there’s always this threat. She sabotages things all the time. Dawn had everything perfectly together, then she went and had an affair. With her addiction, she could always fall back on that, but I really hope not.”

Will Dawn ultimately want to get back with Billy?

“If I was advising Dawn I’d be like, ‘Get back with Billy! What are you doing? He’s an amazing father, he’s so stable’.

“But Dawn just wanted more. They had that really hard time with Evan. Lots of couples go through difficult times when they’ve got an ill baby and that was a real strain for them.

“Billy is not a saint. Everyone loves Billy, but he has pushed her in various ways and he’s not necessarily been the person she expected him to be. In the boxing storyline, he lied and he got involved with criminals – he brought that into the house. Dawn was looking after the baby all the time and Billy didn’t deal with that very well.

“They were just pushed apart like that and sometimes you can’t get it back. What Dawn found with Joe was suddenly this passion – but I’m not defending her!”

Will Dawn be worried about Kim’s reaction?

“Dawn and Kim have a really interesting bond where they have been so distrustful of each other in the past. But because they’ve both lost Will, who they loved so much, they really need each other.

“Kim’s been amazing to Dawn and constantly supported her. There’s this very close relationship. That does develop – that they have each other’s back the whole way through. There’s this real tightness between them.”

How far will Dawn go to cover up her crime?

“I think she’ll go quite far. I think she would be very willing to protect her family and her children.”

Would Dawn let someone else go to prison for the crime?

“Dawn is very much wanting to protect people, actually, so I wouldn’t say she would be able to deal with that. I don’t think it’s in her character. But she’s in a really hard position because her children need her. If she goes down, that’s a nightmare for those kids. Dawn really wants to protect herself and her situation.”

What does the future hold for Dawn?

“Dawn has basically sabotaged everything she’s built up, but interestingly, I think she’ll find a real strength and resilience. And, hey, it’s a new Dawn!”