Another Emmerdale twist as dying character’s fate confirmed in early ITVX release

Robert and Kev holding hands in the pub in Emmerdale
Kevin Townsend and Robert Sugden have been preparing to renew their vows (Picture: ITV)

This article contains spoilers for tonight’s Emmerdale, which has not yet aired on TV but is available to watch now on ITVX.

There have been so many twists and turns on Emmerdale this week that we don’t know which way is up anymore.

First, we faced the horrifying possibility that Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) had been shot dead by Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), only to find out that it had all been in April Windsor’s (Amelia Flanagan) imagination.

Then, we learnt that Callum – the man April had killed – actually wasn’t dead at all!

Today, we were faced with yet another twist – this time in Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and Kevin Townsend’s (Chris Coghill) story.

Viewers will know that Robert returned to the village after being released from prison earlier this year.

Robert holds hands with Kev in Emmerdale
Kev rocked up in the village earlier this year (Picture: ITV)

His first stop was Aaron Dingle’s (Danny Miller) wedding to John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth), where he was keen to stop his former lover from making a big mistake.

Unfortunately, he didn’t manage it, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, as Aaron later discovered after John’s crimes were uncovered.

However, it soon became clear that Robert was hiding a big secret, when Kev arrived in the village.

Viewers were stunned to learn that Kev was Robert’s husband, with the pair having met and married in prison.

During their first meeting outside of jail, Kev admitted to Robert that he’d been diagnosed with a terminal heart condition.

Kev and Robert in an embrace in the pub garden in Emmerdale
Kev has a terminal heart condition (Picture: ITV)

In recent scenes, Robert and Kev have been preparing to renew their wedding vows – something which Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) isn’t best pleased about.

She believes that Robert should be with Aaron, and so enlisted his help to try and talk some sense into his ex on the morning of the vow renewal.

Aaron did more than just talk when he paid Robert a visit, pulling him in for a kiss, which Robert eagerly reciprocated.

Finally accepting that his true feelings lay with Aaron, Robert agreed to call off the vow renewal so that they could be together.

However, his plan was derailed when Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) called round to let him know that Kev was in hospital after suffering another heart scare.

Aaron in a booth in the pub looking worried in Emmerdale
Aaron Dingle was determined to get Robert back (Picture: ITV)

After a call from Kev assuring him that he’d make it to the church, Robert told Aaron that he’d break up with him there – though Aaron had other ideas.

Pointing out that Kev only had a few months to live, Aaron resented the idea of ‘kicking a dying man while he’s down’ and told Robert not to break things off with Kev, but to go through with the vow renewal and keep seeing him in secret.

This way, Kev could enjoy his final months with the man he loves, while Robert and Aaron got to continue their relationship.

Robert agreed to the plan and the ceremony went off without a hitch.

Unfortunately, things in soap land are never that straightforward, so obviously something had to come along and rain on our parade.

Liam in the cafe looking worried in Emmerdale
Dr Liam Cavanagh made a shocking discovery… (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

During the post-service celebration, Liam pulled Kev aside for a chat, where he revealed that he’d looked into his medical records and made a discovery.

While we won’t spoil exactly what the medical records contain, we can reveal that Kev certainly has longer to live than he made out!

Liam was obviously disturbed by Kev’s lies, but Kev warned him not to tell Robert the truth.