DS Thea Ramsden (Chelsea Edge) remained as determined as ever to destroy her birth mother Kim Tate (Claire King) in Wednesday's (21 October 2026) Emmerdale.
The only person currently aware of Thea's connection to Kim is her close friend Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy), with Thea sharing that Kim had her illegally adopted as a baby, which led to a dark childhood.
We're still waiting for all the details on that, as well as who Thea's father is: could it be Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), Kim's other ex-husband Steve Marchant (Paul Opacic) or someone else entirely?
Oblivious to the fact that her vengeful daughter is right under her nose, Kim caught up with Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) and was glad to hear the younger woman was now having treatment for orthorexia, an eating disorder which causes a person to obsessively fixate on healthy eating.
Gabby had moved out of Home Farm after it was revealed she knew that Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) caused the car crash that killed Kim's stepdaughter Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley), as well as Jimmy King (Nick Miles).
Kim was happy to arrange having grandson Thomas to stay the night, though Gabby remained downbeat about the distance between her and Kim.
In the Woolpack, Serena clocked Thea ending a furtive phone call, and when questioned, Thea said all would become clear. Serena tried to dissuade Thea from going after Kim, but there was no changing her mind.
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Soon, Kim was approached by a social worker (played by Lindsay Fraser), who had received a report that baby Tate, son of the late Dawn and Joe Tate (Ned Porteous), had been illegally adopted.
The woman asked to see Joe and his baby, and although blindsided, Kim was able to assure the social worker all was well.
As Kim explained, Graham is caring for the little boy in a cottage away from the village, and the pair hope that with time, Joe will be ready to be a father.
The social worker was satisfied that nothing untoward was going on, but we soon learned that she had been recruited into this visit by Thea because she "owed her one".
Thea was not happy with the news that Kim had been cleared, accusing the social worker of taking a bribe to look the other way.
The woman told Thea that she was way off the mark, and that if Thea wasn't careful she would tell Kim who was bad-mouthing her.
As Thea updated Serena on the state of play, she declared that this war was far from over. What will Thea's next move be?
Anyone affected by Gabby's story can find support via Beat.
Read more:
- Emmerdale airs Rhona Goskirk warning ahead of Tom King's return in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale reveals who stole Robert Sugden's poker winnings in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale airs major Tate family twist - as Graham Foster returns with Joe's baby
- Emmerdale airs Vinny Dingle exit after 7 years with major sentencing twist in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale star teases "rocky road" for Sarah Sugden - and reveals hopes for Debbie Dingle return
- Emmerdale airs explosive Nicola and Sadie King scenes at Jimmy's funeral in early ITVX release
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.
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