As Caleb asks Cain Dingle to kill Joe Tate – their complete history, including why Cain thought he’d killed Joe
There’s no love lost between Caleb and Joe
As Caleb asks Cain for help in getting rid of Joe Tate for good, has Cain’s relationship with Joe come full circle?
Last month, Joe managed to pull off an audacious kidney theft. Having arranged for Caleb to be stabbed, he then hired a private surgeon to perform an illegal kidney transplant.
Caleb woke up in hospital, knowing he was one kidney down, but with no memory over what had happened. However, his suspicions recently became aroused and in Thursday’s episode he discovered the horrifying truth.
Joe had an ace in his pocket though, and he informed Caleb that if he spilled the truth about the kidney, then he’d tell the police about Anthony’s death.
Caleb was livid and met up with Cain, where he told him he didn’t just want Joe dead, he wants him “annihilated”. As Cain Dingle ponders whether to help his brother, we take a look at Cain and Joe’s history.
Joe tricks Cain’s daughter
Joe left the Dales as a child in 2005, before returning as an adult in 2017. However, upon his return he used the alias Tom Waterhouse to contact Debbie Dingle.
Joe blamed Debbie’s parents for driving his dad to suicide after Charity cheated on Chris with Cain, so Joe was intent on revenge. Joe and Debbie soon begun a relationship and Joe lavished Debbie with gifts.
He gifted Debbie a Bentley and bought Jacobs Fold for her and her children. Charity soon became suspicious and after searching his office, she discovered Tom was really Joe Tate.
Joe then took away Debbie’s car and moved all her belongings out of the house. Angering the entire Dingle clan, Joe told Debbie that she was just collateral damage in his quest to avenge his father’s death.
Cain teams up with Ross to get revenge on Joe in Emmerdale
After knocking down the Dingle home and nearly killing Samson, Sam Dingle was intent on getting revenge on Joe. One day, while holding a shotgun and wearing a mask, Sam confronted Joe.
Joe fled and ended up falling down a hole. Sam revealed himself before leaving Joe in the hole. Later Ross arrived at the scene and helped Joe get back to the village.
Ross made a scene in the pub, implying he was against the Dingles. But it was later revealed that Cain had recruited Ross to keep tabs on Joe as part of a Dingle revenge plot.
To make it seem even more real, Cain punched Ross in front of Joe. However, their efforts were for nothing as Joe and Debbie ended up reuniting.
Joe lets Debbie down
With Sarah ill in hospital, Joe came up with the idea that he and Debbie should marry in the hospital chapel. Sarah loved the idea, leading Debbie to eventually agree. Joe even bought dresses for both Sarah and Debbie to wear for the occasion.
Cain tried to talk Debbie out of marrying Joe, but she was determined to go through with the nuptials and told her dad to leave.
He needn’t have bothered anyway as Joe failed to show up for wedding after Graham revealed to Joe that Kim wanted him dead and he therefore had to leave the village.
Debbie was devastated that Joe would just abandon her like that, while Cain insisted that if Joe dared show his face in the village again he was a dead man.
Cain punches Joe in Emmerdale – and thinks he’s killed him
Silly Joe did dare to head back to Emmerdale. When Cain spotted him, he headed straight over. Furious over how Joe treated Debbie, Cain punched Joe.
Joe immediately fell to the ground, hitting his head on a rock as he fell. Cain believed he had killed him, but Joe’s finger twitched leading viewers to think Graham was the one to finish the job.
It was believed that Joe was dead for several months, with actor Ned Porteous even doing exit interviews confirming Joe’s death.
While Cain felt guilty that he had killed Joe with one punch, it was later revealed that Joe was alive and well and was in fact sunning it abroad.
Joe returns
Joe returned in December 2024 and continued with the same grudges from before.
When Joe tried to build bridges with half-brother Noah, Charity was furious. Cain had her back and went to have words with Joe, threatening him with putting his head down the toilet if he went near Noah again.
Joe wasn’t deterred. Not only did he continue to see Noah, he also attempted to steal his kidney. But as we know, that was unsuccessful and it was Caleb’s kidney Joe eventually got.
However, despite Cain’s own history with Joe, next week sees Cain team up with Kim to try and put an end to the feud between Caleb and Joe.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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