On Monday's episode of Emmerdale, Caleb Milligan vowed to take revenge on Joe Tate, following a dark storyline centered around the attack on Billy Fletcher. The businessman, played by William Ash since 2022, had been involved in selling counterfeit goods with Billy, before Billy was attacked and left in a coma.
Caleb Confesses to Ruby
Amid mounting pressure, Caleb finally confessed to his wife Ruby about his dodgy dealings. A stunned Ruby listened as he revealed all, insisting that the counterfeit goods had nothing to do with Billy getting hurt. However, he was furious that Joe, now the number one suspect for the attack, had found out about his activities.
Caleb said: "OK, you might as well know. Me and Billy had this thing going with some counterfeit gear. Well, we started with handbags and shoes...yeah, I know. And then we moved into car parts more recently. Joe Tate found out about it. I was worried that he was gonna go to the police so I shut it down."
He added: "I just... ..can't believe that Joe Tate, of all people, found out about it, and now he's got one over on me...he definitely thinks he has. All the pain and the grief that he's caused. he swans around like nothing's happened. He's gonna get what's coming to him one day. I'm gonna make absolutely certain of it."
Fans Speculate on the Attacker
Reacting to the news, some fans predicted that Caleb attacked Billy and is now trying to frame Joe. One fan wrote on X: "Well technically Caleb hasn’t told any lies, he just hasn’t told the full truth. Caleb is the ringleader here Billy stupidly went along with it for extra cash. Joe wanting to protect Billy is a bit weird given how jealous he is - Caleb does have it in for Joe, but only because Joe has it in for him!"
However, others weren't so convinced. One fan pointed out: "Caleb is making himself pretty suspicious, but it really makes no logical sense for him to attack Billy right before making the shipment and think that it could be pinned on Joe that easily and Joe would keep quiet about their counterfeit operation." Another said: "100% think it's caleb that attacked billy to get joe out the way," whilst a third wrote: "I’m really thinking Caleb attacked Billy to try and frame Joe - We know Joe doesn’t stay locked up, given the wedding spoilers. Joe might pay someone to hurt Billy, but he wouldn’t get his own hands dirty."
Another viewer brought up the idea that Gabby Thomas could be the attacker, writing on Reddit: "Just wondered has anyone considered she may have done it and Caleb probably knows and used it as an opportunity to frame Joe because Joe knows what Caleb has been up to?" However, this idea was met with uncertainty, especially because Gabby is at the centre of an eating disorder storyline. One fan replied: "Billy was unconscious and there was a lot of blood, i have to believe that would take a lot of strength that Gabby just won't have with her current diet, she will be so malnourished, i just don't know if Gabby would have enough actual strength to do that type of damage even with the adrenaline rush."
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
