bad boy Joe Tate (played by Ned Porteous) has swapped the dales for Dubai after stealing a kidney from his uncle () in a sick organ transplant plot in the soap. The shock exit, which was unannounced in advance, came as Caleb recovered after Joe, who had chronic kidney disease, concoted an outrageous plan to aquire his uncle's organ after learning he was a match. He had his co-conspirator stab Caleb and steal his car, after which Joe took Caleb to a private hospital, where a doctor successfully performed the transplant.

Caleb is still none the wiser that his ordeal was orchestrated by his recently returned nephew, and has been told his kidney was too damaged from the attack and had to be removed. However, police were sniffing around over the stabbing and Joe realised he needed to end the investigation.

He was seen speaking to Caleb in the hospital via video chat, claiming he was in Chicago for a business trip when in reality he was still in the clinic recovering from the procedure. Caleb reminded him the police would need to speak with him about the attack upon his return.

However, Joe replied that he hadn't seen anything, and signed off, telling his uncle to take care of himself. With his accomplice released by the police and en route to Thailand, Joe realised he too had to flee.

He told the doctor: "My plane's on standby." However the medic warned him: "You've just had an operation, you shouldn't be travelling for months. And not without trained medical staff."

Joe replied: "I'm well aware of the risks and I've got medics waiting for me when I land in Dubai," adding, "It's time to move on". But as he was plotting his escape, his lover Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) was devastated by his absence and has been struggling after realising she'd fallen in love with him.

Sitting in the back of a car Joe scrolled through his phone and seemed torn over his genuine feelings for Dawn. Despite this, he eventually deleted her number and as he prepared to leave the village.

"Let's go," he said to the driver as he was taken to his waiting plane to start his new life abroad. Joe only returned to the village on Christmas Eve last year and it is unknown if his exit is permanent this time.

Emmerdale airs from Mondays to Thursdays on ITV1 from 7.30pm or catch up on ITVX.