Just hours into his long prison stretch, Emmerdale's Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) has been attacked. The character was sentenced to 10 years in prison for causing the crash that killed Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley).
Judge hands down lengthy sentence
Vinny's mum Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) believed he would be out in a few years because he pleaded guilty. However, the judge sentenced him to a massive 10 years in prison, commenting on how he kept the truth a secret for weeks and saying she wanted to send him to prison for a long time to show others what may happen if they go on their phone while driving.
Joe Tate's bribery revealed
Towards the end of the episode, the ITV soap aired a twist suggesting Vinny's sentence could have been a lot less. It was revealed that Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) bribed the judge into sending Vinny to prison for such a long time, giving her a large amount of cash in return. Joe was told a few weeks ago that Vinny would only be charged with causing Jimmy's death, not Dawn's.
Mandy receives devastating news
In this evening's episode, Mandy was waiting for an update on Vinny. At the Dingle homestead, she joined relatives in paying tribute to beloved Zak Dingle, but worrying about Vinny made her very distracted. Mandy's phone rang, and she discovered from someone at the prison that Vinny had been attacked. She was devastated and terrified for her boy.
It remains to be seen if Joe has committed yet another heinous act. If he did orchestrate the attack and continues to have contacts inside, Vinny's time behind bars is likely to be slow and torturous.
