David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) angrily disowned Leyla Cavanagh (Roxy Shahidi) in tonight’s Emmerdale (5th January 2023) as he blamed her for their seriously injured son Jacob Gallagher’s (Joe-Warren Plant) plight.
Recovering drug addict Leyla has been struggling lately, and she came dangerously close to relapsing this week when she bought cocaine from dealer Callum (Tom Ashley). Jacob caught her with the stash, and he took matters into his own hands by locking Leyla in her bedroom and heading out to warn Callum off with a knife.
Unfortunately, their altercation ended with Jacob nursing a stab wound, and as the ITV soap returned, Jacob was seen unconscious on the ground. Back in the village, Leyla was still trapped while David and his father Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) discussed the fact that Jacob hadn’t been home or even been in touch.
Pollard assumed that Jacob was simply enjoying life as a student, but the sickening truth wasn’t uncovered until David sought out Leyla. Letting himself into her home, David realised that she was locked in upstairs. As he released her, Leyla concocted a story that she had accidentally locked herself in – still unaware that Jacob was missing.
But when she reached her phone, Leyla spotted the message exchange with Callum, and realised that Jacob had been the one to instigate it. With David relaying that Jacob hadn’t been seen since the day before, Leyla told him a half-truth – that their son had mistakenly believed she was back on coke and that he had gone after her ex-dealer.
Leyla worked out that Jacob must have met Callum at their usual haunt, and she and David drove to the viaduct. There, they searched and were horrified to find Jacob unresponsive with a bleeding wound. As David instructed her to call an ambulance, Leyla spotted her own knife on the ground and hid it in David’s van.
She then decided that they should take Jacob to the hospital themselves, despite David worrying that this could cause more damage. Once there, they were met by Pollard, as well as Leyla’s estranged husband Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson). Doctor Liam was concerned to hear that they had moved Jacob themselves, and he tried to find out what was happening.
Meanwhile, it didn’t take long for David to work out that shifty Leyla was hiding something. When he found the knife, she was forced to explain that it belonged to her. She urged David to lie to the police over her involvement, and David and Leyla told the officers that they didn’t know who had hurt Jacob.
Later, the surgeon explained that an operation to treat Jacob’s injury had gone well. The stab wound had gone through his liver and he had been given a transfusion, so it was now a waiting game.
But after they arranged to see Jacob, David coldly turned to Leyla and told her she was no longer wanted after putting Jacob in such danger.
Will Jacob be okay – and can Leyla make amends?
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Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our Soaps hub.
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