Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) is trying his best to support Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) in the wake of an indecent image ordeal in Emmerdale.

Dawn recently learnt that her 10 year old daughter Clemmie had sent an intimate photograph to Nicola King’s (Nicola Wheeler) son Carl.

Both families were paid a visit by police, who explained that the youngsters had committed crimes because they are both under the age of consent.

Nicola knew that Carl had learnt his lesson once the police spoke to him, but she had no choice but to take him to the station for questioning. At Home Farm meanwhile, Dawn had to try and work out what to do about Clemmie, who was refusing to go back to school because of how embarrassed she was feeling.

Joe suggested sending Clemmie to a new private school instead. He argued that it would be a fresh start for her, but Clemmie’s dad Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) pointed out that she would feel like an alien among children who come from wealthy homes.

In tonight’s episode, Dawn revealed to Joe that the police aren’t going to take the investigation any further, and that Carl was back at school.

In the pub, a frustrated Joe heard Jimmy talking to Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) about Carl. Jimmy believed that his son was a victim like Clemmie, but Joe didn’t agree.

The matter was made worse when Joe mentioned Jimmy and Nicola’s daughter Angelica King, who went to a young person’s prison after the car crash that killed Bob Hope’s (Tony Audenshaw) son. Jimmy jumped out of his chair and tried to attack Joe, but was stopped by Liam.

Joe then took great pleasure in reminding Jimmy that he’s a Tate, and his family believe that justice can come in many forms.

This will be a case of famous last words for Joe as this week, he will find himself facing trouble with the police when he hits Jimmy with his car. He is briefly distracted prior to this, and fails to see Jimmy in the road.

Given the threat in tonight’s episode, any claims the hit was an accident probably won’t be believed.

Will Joe face criminal charges?

Or can he get out of it?

Reflecting on the complexities of Joe and Dawn’s relationship, star Olivia Bromley said recently: ‘It’s interesting because I think Dawn and Joe are an unlikely couple in lots of ways. They’re so different, they’ve got such different backgrounds and they’ve got such different energies in the way they move through the world, but there’s this kind of magnetism between them that they couldn’t really resist.

‘In a way, Dawn opening up about this past to somebody who seems to have it all together and who could be so judgemental, the way he actually responds to that and holds her in that space, I think is really beautiful and really sweet.

She added: ‘She feels safe enough to talk to him about this. I don’t think that Joe, as we know, is a particularly good man in lots of ways, but with Dawn all he seems to want to do is protect her and keep her safe. It’s a nice moment for the relationship.

‘I don’t know what it shows for the future, but it’s nice that they’re able to be very honest and vulnerable with each other.’