Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) is set to discover the true extent of his bride Dawn Taylor's (Olivia Bromley) betrayal on their wedding day, as she packs her belongings and prepares to leave the village. Dawn has been secretly planning to flee to Spain with Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) and the children after learning that Joe was accused of leaving Billy for dead.
A Plan Set in Motion
Dawn has been making hurried arrangements to escape Joe's clutches, but he is poised to find out before she can safely close the car door. Joe appeared unbothered by Gabby Thomas's (Rosie Bentham) suggestion weeks ago that Dawn and Billy were getting too close. Caleb Miligan's (William Ash) gleeful revelation that the pair had kissed briefly dampened Joe's mood, but a quick word with his fiancée eased his concerns.
When Billy was attacked and left for dead, Joe was annoyed to be accused but maintained his innocence and had the charge dropped. He seemed untroubled that Dawn spent every day at Billy's hospital bedside, secretly plotting her escape. His reaction to catching Dawn at the hospital without telling him where she was seemed overly nonchalant.
Wedding Day Tensions
On the wedding day, Joe appears nervous that everything will go smoothly—more nervous than a man who knows of the betrayal and needs Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) to reassure him. Graham tries, but he is suspicious and sets off to discover what Dawn is up to. Meanwhile, Caleb hands Billy wads of cash to start a new life with his family.
At the Woolpack before the nuptials, Joe toasts 'happy endings,' which irks Caleb, but Ruby holds him back from revealing Dawn and Billy's escape plan, insisting he wait for the wedding itself. However, when Joe rescinds Caleb's invite to the wedding, Caleb drops the bomb, revealing that Dawn has already fled.
Possible Revenge
Actor Ned Porteous hints that Joe might be more aware than he appears. 'Do we even know that Joe is privy to what's going on?' Ned shares. 'That's the main part of it. Is he planning some horrible revenge story which is going to take over? Is he completely clueless to what's going on?'
'It's family. It's the things that he holds really dear,' Ned reveals, speaking of Joe's one soft spot. 'And if you were to take that from a man who is outwardly volatile and dangerous as is, unable to regulate his emotions, if you were to take the final thing tethering him to a life of moral good, what could that man then be capable of?'
Graham discovers Dawn packing suitcases and preparing to leave, and the question remains how far Joe will go to stop her.
