Emmerdale star Ned Porteous has opened up about what’s to come for villain Joe Tate – and how he’s “scared of the feelings” he has for Dawn Fletcher. Over the last few episodes, Emmerdale fans have watched Joe execute his dastardly plan to get his hands on a kidney transplant – stabbing his uncle Caleb in a staged car theft in order to steal his kidney.
However, Ned has shared Joe’s softer side on ITV’s Lorraine, telling presenter Christine Lampard that he’s splitting up Dawn Taylor and Billy Fletcher as his need for love “scares him the most”. Defending Joe, Ned said: “I suppose it’s hard to understand with someone like Joe.
“He’s a man who’s managed to acquire so much through money and power and there’s certain things in life that you can’t buy – and love and affection is definitely one of those things.
“I think he’s a little bit scared of those feelings, he doesn’t really know how to deal with it so he’ll keep them at arm’s length but desperately needs to know that he has someone around who loves him. At the end of the day, that’s what everyone wants and I think that scares him the most.”
As for what’s to come, he added: “It’s going to pop off.”
This week saw Joe almost slip up after stealing Caleb’s kidney, when he left his coat at Caleb’s house which has his post-kidney transplant medication in the pocket. While he managed to get it back, Noah Dingle spoke about how he spotted both the dodgy looking doctor Crowley and Joe both being in the hospital when he was admitted after being spiked.
Spoilers for next week reveal that Kim Tate gets involved to get Caleb to back off – and offers him a huge deal that stop him from feuding with her step grandson.
In March, Ned spoke to The Mirror in an exclusive chat about Joe’s kidney-stealing plan, defending the character. “Joe isn’t a psychopath,” Ned insisted. “He would care if something bad happened, but he would also put his own life before Caleb’s. He’s willing to accept the consequences of a worst-case scenario.”
“Sometimes, you have to wait to get what you want. There are lots of people on transplant lists,” Ned added, “Joe assumes that his life is more important than others. He’s not going to wait the amount of time sometimes necessary to get a kidney.”
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