Caleb Milligan (William Ash) has made no secret of his loathing for Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) in Emmerdale. After Joe ripped his kidney from his body and recently stuck his nose into Caleb's counterfeit business, getting it shut down, Caleb now wants full and proper revenge.
Caleb's Plot to Ruin Joe's Life
'He [Caleb] realises that he's not going to be able to kill him [Joe], but that he can ruin his life, so that's what he tries to do with his relationship with Dawn,' actor Will Ash reveals to Metro of Caleb's plot to do as much damage as possible without physically doing damage.
Caleb had taken innocent Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) under his wing to show him the ropes of criminal activity, allowing Billy to be a driver for his counterfeit goods scheme. But Will confirms that Billy is 'collateral damage' for him to get at Joe, which gives some idea of where this is headed when push comes to shove. Billy will be the first under the bus.
Evidence Framing and Escape Plans
Having learned Billy was hit over the head by Kev in the depot, Caleb and Ruby hid the evidence to instead incriminate Joe. It worked well—Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley), for one, fully believed them. Even Billy did.
Caleb has been helping Billy plot his escape, offering to secure him, Dawn, and the kids passports to ensure they can leave and never be seen again. But Caleb holds the power, and he wants to inflict maximum damage. At the point Billy needs help the most, Caleb refuses to hand the passports over. He wants to do it the day of the wedding, when Joe will be at his most vulnerable.
Joe's Wedding Day Shattered
But as Joe starts trying to wind Caleb up—rescinding his invite to the wedding and thus his chance to watch Joe's life implode first hand—Caleb decides to shatter Joe's life early. He gleefully tells his nemesis that Dawn has left with his baby and step kids for a new life far, far away.
While he's doing this, Dawn is trying to make a desperate escape that's thwarted by Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough). Graham drops his own bomb on Dawn—he questions how Billy could be so sure of who hit him when he was hit from behind. Sadly for Dawn, he has a point. It doesn't stop her knocking out Graham and making her bid for freedom, but will Joe catch her before she gets far?
Actor Ned Porteous hints to Metro that perhaps Joe is prepared for this outcome and has a plan up his sleeve. '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?'
