Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) is grieving the death of 'uncle' Jimmy King (Nick Miles) in Emmerdale, and viewers have been left wondering how the pair are related. Jimmy died last week when his car crashed through the marquee on the wedding day of Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) and Joe Tate (Ned Porteous). The cause of the accident remains unknown, but a second set of tyre tracks suggests another vehicle was involved, with Jimmy believed to have swerved to avoid the car.
Wedding day tragedy
More devastation followed when bride-to-be Dawn gave birth to fiancé Joe's baby in hospital before suffering a haemorrhage. Joe was heartbroken when he was told of Dawn's death. The news of both deaths was hard for Gabby to accept, and upon learning of Jimmy's, she referred to him as her uncle, leaving several viewers confused. One X user, Mike, wrote: 'Uncle? Eh?', while Hasan asked: 'Anyone know how Jimmy is somehow an uncle to Gabby?'
Family connection explained
Gabby is not related to Jimmy by blood, but he is her uncle through marriage. Her mother is Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles), who is the sister of Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler). Bernice has always been very close to Nicola, who married Jimmy after they first got together in 2009. Gabby was born in 2001, so for most of her life Jimmy was married to her aunt, meaning she would have thought of him as an integral part of her family.
Gabby also shares a close bond with stepmother Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), who was married to her father Ashley (John Middleton). Laurel was like a second mum to Gabby, having played a key role in her upbringing. Laurel is also best friends with Nicola, meaning Gabby would have been in Nicola and Jimmy's orbit quite a bit over the years, given both Bernice and Laurel's closeness to Nicola.
What happens next
Given these connections, it is no wonder Gabby is devastated over Jimmy's death. The question now is whether she is responsible for the deaths of both Jimmy and Dawn. Gabby has been acting incredibly secretive since the news broke and was all but set to confess something to Laurel before learning about Dawn's death. Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 or streams from 7am on ITVX and YouTube.
