ITV Emmerdale fans ‘work out’ who brings down Dr Crowley as he blackmails Joe Tate

Emmerdale enthusiasts are certain Kim Tate (played by Claire King) is on the verge of toppling Dr. Crowley (James Hillier) as he persists in extorting Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).

Since his eerie return to the village, Crowley has wiped Joe’s bank account clean and sparked a romance with Home Farm’s very own Kim. Yet, unbeknownst to her, the doctor’s true agenda is to fleece Kim of her wealth.

Crowley’s desperation for cash, following his illegal procurement of Caleb Miligan’s (William Ash) kidney for Joe, has him scheming to drain both Joe and Kim’s finances.

In the episode aired on Wednesday (16th July), Joe is seen frazzled as he attempts to convince Kim to invest in a new scheme.

Joe Tate has been left in a tricky situation after he was blackmailed by Dr Crowley into ripping off Kim Tate(Image: ITV)

This so-called business opportunity is nothing but a ruse to scam Kim out of her hard-earned money to appease Crowley, who has threatened to harm Joe’s beloved Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley), reports Belfast Live.

Meanwhile, Kim’s latest beau Eddie, better known to us as Dr. Crowley, is laying on the charm thick and making himself at home at Home Farm.

When Joe pressures Kim to ink the deal, she stuns him by outright declining. Her focus shifts to planning a getaway with Eddie to Austria.

Kim also lets slip that she’s got a “personal project” up her sleeve which demands her full attention, leaving no room to entertain Joe’s investment proposition.

The evil Crowley has returned to Emmerdale

Later on, Joe confronts Crowley and his menacing accomplice Shaun just outside the village, stressing that he’s done all he could to meet their demands.

Crowley’s not throwing in the towel just yet, slipping Joe a vial of drugs that eerily echoes their recent abduction face-off.

He cautions: “Enough to take down a bull – but please do be careful with the dosage”. The question on everyone’s lips is whether Joe will use the drugs on Kim.

Avid Emmerdale watchers are buzzing with theories that Kim’s already clued up about Crowley’s scheme to nick her wealth, and they reckon she’ll off him as payback.

Emmerdale fans reckon they’ve cracked Kim Tate’s true intentions (Image: ITV)

On Reddit, a viewer speculated: “We all know that if Joe simply told Kim the truth, they’d bury Crowley, and that’d be that.

“Joe can’t really know Kim’s entire history, ‘where all the bodies are buried’ actually and figuratively, and think she couldn’t handle him in a blink. It’s ridiculous him trying to figure this out on his own.”

Another chimed in: “Lazy writing. You’re telling me Kim never so much as Googled his name? ‘Edward Crowley was struck off’ would be the very first search result, unless it’s a fake name, in which case a plastic surgeon having no website is also a red flag.”

They continued: “This woman knows all, sees all, and kept her millions safe from multiple men, like Will and Caleb, but … not him.”

Viewers think Kim knows more than she’s letting on(Image: ITV)

Yet another added: “Kim already knows everything about the kidney heist except who did the surgery. It’s a small detail, Joe could just let her know. On top of that, he has the bank statement to prove he’s been extorted. This could be over so easily.”

Another added their two cents: “It occurred to me this morning that maybe Kim is running the whole operation. She knows basically everything Joe has done, she has had secret operations before, and she could definitely have hired Crowley and Sean to do her dirty work.”

They continued: “It would make sense for her to be settling Joe up by seeing whether or not he will protect her.”

In agreement, another fan speculated: “Exactly! I think she has to be in on it surely…but then it would be a bit like the ‘dada’ moment with Caleb all over again.”