Emmerdale fans heartbroken as fan favourite character is killed

Emmerdale fans were left heartbroken as Joe Tate was killed in tonight's dramatic double-bill.

The final moments of the first of Thursday night's episodes saw three characters fighting for their lives - including Joe. Despite the warnings from Graham Foster that his step-grandmother Kim wanted him dead, Joe wasn't able to turn his back on Debbie, Sarah and Noah - so he decided to return to the village, telling Graham as much. https://www.instagram.com/p/BozgsOFhivB/ But after Kim saw the messages, she gave Graham no choice but to finish Joe off once and for all. He headed out of the estate, armed with a gun, only to be stopped by Cian Dingle. A furious Cain demanded to  know where Joe was, thinking he had jilted Debbie at the altar. As Joe walked up to the two of them, he punched him - causing the faux multi-millionaire to fall and hit his head off of a rock. https://twitter.com/emmerdale/status/1050462504743301121 It was later revealed that Cain hadn't actually killed Joe - despite Graham letting him believe that was the case. As Graham was putting Joe's body into the boot of his car, he saw his fingers start to move. He drove to the viaduct - the same place where Moira had killed Emma Barton - to seemingly dispose of Joe's body. And while fans may have been hoping for some chance of Joe surviving, actor Ned Porteous has confirmed his time on the soap has come to an end. He told Digital Spy: 

"Yes and such a lot happened in those last episodes. You saw Cain strike Joe to the ground. Joe took a very serious wound to the head and it initially appeared he was dead. "Graham appeared to think so too, up until that pinnacle moment when his finger twitched in the car, so that blow to the head on the rock didn't actually kill him. "However, Graham knew he had to get rid of Joe. It looks like he was the one that ultimately ended Joe, but Cain unwittingly thinks it was him who killed him. So will Cain take the fall for it?"

Fans weren't too happy at the news of his departure. https://twitter.com/agronsdarren/status/1050472010806190081 https://twitter.com/Ellie95923030/status/1050472005621952512 https://twitter.com/megangoodier/status/1050471975481724928 https://twitter.com/Maxine07732455/status/1050471929184997377 https://twitter.com/x23Jayx/status/1050471802982535170