ITV / EmmerdaleInsider Share By Rebecca Sayers Dec 31 2025 By Rebecca Sayers Dec 31 2025 From Joe Tate's kidney theft, John Sugden's bow and arrow and Robert's shock return, here are the wildest Emmerdale stories of 2025 What a year it has been Emmerdale 2025 Joe Tate John Sugden Share By Rebecca Sayers Dec 31 2025 By Rebecca Sayers Dec 31 2025 Emmerdale has had some crazy storylines in 2025. The soap never hides away from doing things that are just a stretch unrealistic, but this year may take the crown for having some of the most bizarre storylines ever – and that’s saying a lot. Over the course of the year, Emmerdale has once again used its platform to raise awareness for important topics. And has of course shown why it truly is on top form. But amid the powerful storylines, there have been some that had left us wondering what was going on. So, here we have a look at the craziest storylines in Emmerdale 2025. Buckle in, there’s quite a few. Joe was a man of secrets when he returned (Credit: ITV) Joe Tate’s entire kidney plot When 2025 began, Joe Tate had just returned to Emmerdale. And we had quite a lot of hope and expectations for his character. But suddenly, he was thrown into a ridiculous plot that had everyone confused. Joe needed a new kidney. And instead of just saying pretty please, and asking family members, he went on a huge quest to steal one. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers After unsuccessfully getting Noah’s, his attention was turned to his uncle Caleb. And in a very elaborate scheme, Joe successfully got Caleb stabbed and brought to a private hospital where Dr Crowley was ready and waiting to take the kidney. And it worked! Joe managed to steal a kidney and get it transplanted into his body, before Caleb could even realise. But of course, the truth came out and began a feud between the Tate’s. However, they have since ironed out their differences… A huge crash took the lives of three characters (Credit: ITV) The Emmerdale 2025 limo crash But another knock-on effect from Joe’s kidney plot was the huge deaths of Leyla, Amy and Suzie during the Emmerdale limo crash of 2025. At this point, Joe was convinced Noah was going to be the best option for him to get a kidney. So, he drugged him. However, once he realised Noah wasn’t a match, Joe let him go. What he didn’t plan for, was Noah stumbling onto the road where Charity was driving a limo full of Emmerdale girls. And when she saw her son, she had to quickly serve. But things got worse as she swerved onto ice. Ultimately three people died in heartbreaking scenes. And no, Joe never went to prison for his connection in their deaths. Mack was shot with an arrow (Credit: ITV) John hunting Mack down with a bow and arrow Jumping to this summer when John Sugden was finally beginning to be caught out over his lies and murder. But unfortunately for Mack, he ended up paying quite the price for his discoveries. When John realised that Mack was onto him, he chased him through the forest. However, he was armed. Not with a gun. Instead with a bow and arrow he had in the back of his van. He sinisterly chased Mack through the forest, and ultimately shot his shoulder. This led to a few weeks of Mackenzie being held hostage in John’s underground bunker, where John threatened to kill him quite a few times. In the end, John was actually the one to save Mack, in his last ditch attempt at being the hero of the story. And while he is currently still out in the wind, something tells us that’s all going to change soon. John was a man on a mission (Credit: ITV) The entire John Sugden reign of terror But the Mack situation was only a small part of John’s reign of terror on the village. For months and months, his lies and murderous secret went unnoticed. John needed to be the hero. So, he spent his time in Emmerdale 2025, making people sick, or injuring them, just so he could turn it around and save the day. He murdered Nate (accidentally) and then left his body in the lake. And right before Amy died in the limo crash, the reveal was made to the viewers. But John wasn’t only going after people he didn’t like, but he was also targeting his own husband, Aaron. And when the truth eventually came out it led to a cliff-top showdown. Robert appeared, trying to save the day, but John decided if he couldn’t have Aaron then nobody could, and jumped off the cliff, while holding Aaron. Thankfully, Aaron survived. But so did John. And when Aaron woke up, John knew his time was up and blackmailed Caleb into helping him escape. We got Robert Sugden back in Emmerdale 2025 (Credit: ITV) Robert Sugden’s return – a welcome unexpected wild storyline However, a wild Emmerdale 2025 storyline that had us extremely happy, was the unexpected return of the iconic Robert Sugden. Six years ago, Robert said goodbye to the village, as he was sent down for the murder of Lee. But 2025 welcomed him back, as he appealed his sentence and was determined to win the love of his life back. While Aaron was secretly happy to see him, he still went ahead and married John. But now, months later, Robron are finally back together and trying to enjoy their life. Especially as they also had the drama of Kev Townsend. Many fans wanted Kev to stick around (Credit: ITV) Robert’s secret prison husband That brings us onto another unexpectedly crazy Emmerdale storyline of 2025. Alongside his return, Robert brought some secrets. And it was soon revealed that he had gotten married while he was in prison. While it was clear he did have love for Kev, we quickly learned that he wasn’t in love with him. And instead, felt like he owed Kev for saving his life a number of times. However, what he didn’t know, was that Kev had secrets of his own. For one, he told Robert that he was dying when he wasn’t, just so Robert felt like he had to stay with him. And secondly, he has a secret son – the one and only Lewis Barton. Kev’s final scenes came when he held Robert, Aaron and Dr Liam hostage in the Mill Flat, while swinging his samurai sword around. And of course, when Kev headed towards Aaron with it, Robert jumped in his way, getting sliced in the process. The whole ordeal led to Kev leaving the village, with the promise of revenge. So, currently, both halves of Robron have a psycho husband out there who hates the other – not concerning at all! Charity isn’t really carrying Sarah’s baby (Credit: ITV) Charity offering to be a surrogate for her grand-daughter – then sleeping with Ross! Believe it or not, things continued to get even crazier in Emmerdale during the course of 2025. Sarah realised she had one thing she wanted to achieve more than anything – to be a mum. But because of her illness, and her cancer diagnosis which forced her to get a hysterectomy, this dream became harder to achieve. And when Charity realised no surrogates would risk carrying a baby for Sarah, she offered to go through it herself. The whole situation caused issues between her and Mack. And after an argument, she got drunk and slept with Ross. It wasn’t long before her pregnancy test came back positive and she was left wondering if it was really Sarah’s baby she was carrying. And just a few weeks later, it was confirmed the baby is actually hers and Ross’. But currently, Chas is the only one to know the truth. It’s just a matter of how long can Charity actually keep this a secret? As we know nothing ever stays hidden in SoapLand. Emmerdale tackled a devastating Modern Slavery storyline in 2025 (Credit: ITV) Modern Slavery storyline A more hard-hitting, unexpected storyline of Emmerdale in 2025 was the Modern Slavery storyline involving Bear Wolf. Months ago, we were told Emmerdale were doing a never-before-done storyline, and that Bear would be changed by his circumstances. But none of us would have guessed things could get this dark. Celia and Ray have been terrorising the youth of Emmerdale for quite some time. And when they aren’t at their farm with the forced workers, Ray was selling April for sex, and forcing her and Dylan to deal drugs. The storyline, while it raised massive awareness, brought the debate of is Emmerdale getting too dark? A crossover is coming (Credit: ITV) What can we expect from 2026? While Emmerdale had a fabulous year in 2025, it’s safe to say the wild storylines even made the show better. And without them, we could have had a lot more boring same-old storylines on our screens. And with 2026 introducing the new ITV soap power-hour, kicking off with the hugely anticipated Corriedale crossover, we believe that the show will continue to surprise us (for both good and bad). But either way, we can’t wait to see what is in store. Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2025? A complete guide to departures, returns and new arrivals in the Dales Share Good to Know Share By Rebecca Sayers Dec 31 2025 By Rebecca Sayers Dec 31 2025 Previous Story Next Story
