Another Emmerdale exit looms as Joe makes a decision

| Soaps Reporter Published September 30, 2026 9:25am Updated September 30, 2026 9:25am Joe’s made a decision (Picture: ITV) The following article contains spoilers from the episode of Emmerdale dated September 30. It hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX and YouTube. Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) has made a decision in Emmerdale – and it’s going to lead to another exit. The character has been spiralling since the death of partner Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley). Dawn and Joe became trapped in the marquee wreckage after Jimmy King (Nick Miles) crashed his car through the tent. While they survived the explosion, Dawn later died in hospital after giving birth to her and Joe’s son. Joe has struggled to connect with baby Tate because whenever he looks at the little tot, he is reminded of losing Dawn. Kim Tate (Claire King) and Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) have attempted to help Joe see sense, but he’s remained convinced that being a father to baby Tate isn’t something he can do. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Joe believes that baby Tate would live a better life with different parents (Picture: ITV) Graham told Kim earlier this week that he was going to do whatever he can to stop Joe from having baby Tate adopted. In today’s episode, he resorted to playing an old video of Dawn to challenge Joe’s emotions, but that didn’t work. The supportive good cop approach wasn’t working, so Graham took a different approach and made it clear that he thinks Dawn deserved better than a ‘spineless man’ like Joe. Wound up, Joe slapped Graham. It was obvious that Graham had known exactly how Joe would react to his comments, with everything he had said carefully calculated to try and push his surrogate son into finally doing something about baby Tate. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. At the hospital, Graham sensed that a breakthrough was on the horizon. He continued offering support to Joe, saying how he’d show great strength if he changed his mind about the adoption. But it wasn’t enough. Graham issued a major warning to Joe (Picture: ITV) Joe was absolutely adamant that baby Tate would live a better life if he had different parents. He told Graham that the adoption would happen off the books, and asked him to investigate the potential families to ensure the baby would be going to a safe home. Graham warned Joe that if he helps with this, it will be the final thing he ever does for him. Joe looked somewhat anxious, but nodded in understanding. We know from spoilers for the ITV soap that Kim will learn about Graham’s plan to leave the village, which certainly suggests the adoption is going to go ahead. He’s only been back in the Dales for nine months, but it seems Graham’s exit has been revealed. Deals of the Day I’ve found the Hoover gadget that could make cleaning your floors so much easier I tried L'Oréal Paris's new PDRN serum and my skin looked glossier after one use This new Cricut gadget turns your favourite photos into stickers in minutes From kitchen hatches to burgundy walls – the biggest home trends for 2027 Oodie’s cosy blanket sale has arrived just in time for Christmas shopping Will Joe change his mind at the last minute to prevent him from losing his father figure again? Arrow MORE: William Ash confirms controversial Emmerdale storyline is over after ‘extreme’ end Arrow MORE: Devastated Kim in bits as she is forced to say goodbye in Emmerdale Arrow MORE: Are you a true fan? Test your knowledge with Metro’s weekly Soaps quiz The Soaps Newsletter – Weekly Sign up for exclusive spoilers and interviews, handpicked by our Soaps Editor.