The drama in Emmerdale has reached fever pitch as fans of the ITV soap speculate wildly about who might be aiding the sinister Dr. Crowley in his blackmail scheme against Joe Tate. Tuesday’s episode intensified the tension, with Crowley tightening his grip on Joe, forcing him to steal money from his grandmother, Kim Tate, to meet the villain’s demands. As the plot thickens, a recent scene has sparked theories that a surprising villager could be in cahoots with Crowley, and fans believe they’ve cracked the case.

Joe’s predicament stems from a dark deal with Crowley, who secured a kidney for him after Joe was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. Desperate to stay alive, Joe paid Crowley a hefty sum for a secret transplant, bypassing legal channels. However, their arrangement took a grim turn when Joe orchestrated a fake car theft that left his uncle, Caleb Milligan, stabbed by Joe’s accomplice, Shawn. Crowley, horrified but complicit, saved Caleb’s life and performed Joe’s transplant before vanishing. Now, Crowley is back, tormenting Joe with threats against his love interest, Dawn Taylor, and her children, demanding cash from Kim to keep quiet.

Joe, caught between his fear of Crowley and loyalty to Kim, has concocted a fake investment scheme to siphon money from her. But fans suspect Kim might already sense something’s amiss. More intriguingly, a seemingly random scene between Caleb and Shawn has set tongues wagging. In the episode, Caleb bumped into Shawn and struggled to place where he’d seen him before, seemingly unaware that Shawn was the one who stabbed him. Given that Caleb also met Crowley during the transplant ordeal, fans are piecing together a compelling theory: could Caleb be secretly working with Crowley—and possibly Shawn—to take down Joe?

The online buzz is electric, with one fan theory gaining traction: “There’s more to it than meets the eye. I don’t think the Caleb and Shawn scene was a coincidence when Caleb’s barely been in any scenes for a while. What purpose did it serve other than to hint at some sort of involvement?” The speculation makes sense. Caleb has a long-standing feud with Kim, and his history with Joe is fraught. Could he be orchestrating a revenge plot, using Crowley’s blackmail as a weapon to destroy his nephew and undermine Kim?

This theory is bolstered by Caleb’s murky past and his knack for holding grudges. Fans point out that Crowley saving Caleb’s life might have forged a bond—or a debt—between them. Shawn’s betrayal of Joe, knocking him out after initially appearing loyal, also suggests he could be playing both sides, possibly under Caleb’s influence. As Joe scrambles to appease Crowley without alerting Kim, the question looms: is Caleb the mastermind pulling the strings?

With Emmerdale’s knack for twists, fans are on edge, eagerly awaiting the next clue. Is Caleb truly involved, or is this another red herring? One thing’s certain—the truth will shake the village to its core.