Emmerdale fans left screaming at their TVs – but is Joe Tate really dead?

| Soaps Reporter Published August 28, 2026 10:29am Updated August 28, 2026 10:29am Joe’s fate was up in the air (Picture: ITV) Emmerdale fans were absolutely horrified watching yesterday’s episode of the ITV soap as a wedding marquee exploded – with Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) inside. Earlier this week, Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) discovered the truth about Billy Fletcher’s (Jay Kontzle) attack. She had spent ages believing that Joe put her ex in hospital, and decided to run away from the village to start her life again with Billy and their children. A comment from Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) about Billy’s attack began to play on Dawn’s mind, leading to her confronting Billy at the side of a road. Once he confessed that he had lied to her, Dawn headed back to the village. Finding Joe in the marquee, Dawn begged him for another chance, and then asked if he’ll still marry her. Joe never got to answer, as disaster struck. Jimmy King (Nick Miles) crashed his car right through the tent, knocking him, Joe and Dawn unconscious. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) was first on scene, and rushed to try and save her husband. It quickly became apparent that Jimmy wasn’t going to survive, forcing Nicola to sit beside him as his life slipped away. While Dawn had only sustained a few injuries, Joe wasn’t so lucky. He was trapped under a beam, and neither Nicola or Dawn were strong enough to move it and free him. Things got even worse when Dawn noticed that the marquee was on fire. She had no choice but to grab Nicola and make a run for it. The crash knocked Jimmy, Dawn and Joe unconscious (Picture: ITV) Outside, the likes of Graham, Kim Tate (Claire King), Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) had all arrived. As Dawn and Nicola rushed out, Graham realised that Joe was still in the tent. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. He legged it over the field to try and save him, but the explosion happened before he could get inside. Following the shocking scenes, fans took to social media platform X to express their thoughts, all hoping that Joe survives the blast. Sophie wrote: ‘I need Joe to survive this he can’t die #emmerdale’. Margaret shared: ‘Heartbroken. Not Joe’. ‘If Joe Tate has been killed i am never watching Emmerdale again!’, this fan stated. ‘PLEASE TELL ME JOE ISNT DEAD PLEASE’, another said. PLEASE TELL ME JOE ISNT DEAD PLEASE 💔— Apawables ࣪ฅ ˖ Warrior Cats Fan Hub! (@apawablesWC) August 27, 2026 So, is Joe Tate really dead? The rest of this article contains spoilers from the episode of Emmerdale dated August 28. It hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX and YouTube. Today’s episode of the ITV soap confirms that Joe wasn’t killed in the explosion. To everyone’s relief, Graham shares that some debris potentially protected Joe from the explosion blast. In hospital, Joe is then given the news that Dawn has gone into early labour. She eventually gives birth to a very tiny baby boy. Jimmy King died after 22 years in the village (Picture: ITV) This week has marked the end of Nick Miles’ time as Jimmy King. Discussing what happened after he finished filming his last scenes with on-screen partner Nicola Wheeler, Nick told Metro: Deals of the Day A friend said I looked 'snatched' – I credit this new Charlotte Tilbury powder Shop MySweetSmile's biggest Bank Holiday offers before they end Back-to-school shopping just got a lot cheaper thanks to Primark The back-to-school essential parents forget every year – and it could cost them Simba's cooling mattresses are now up to 30% off ahead of the bank holiday ‘We both broke down. It’s the end of a long relationship that we made together. I sent her a letter telling her that I’ve been so lucky to have the best onscreen partner. But we will always be mates.’ Arrow MORE: Take Metro’s latest Soaps quiz after a truly explosive week in Soapland Arrow MORE: Does Joe Tate die in Emmerdale? Latest updates after his wedding disaster Arrow MORE: Who dies in Emmerdale explosion? Big spoilers confirm what happens next The Soaps Newsletter – Weekly Sign up for exclusive spoilers and interviews, handpicked by our Soaps Editor.