She thought he had finally done the right thing.
Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) realised she had been double-crossed in tonight’s Emmerdale (11th July 2024), when she and her brother Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) were arrested!
The latest twist came after Moira’s son Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) ended up in hospital, as his unjust imprisonment led to transphobic abuse behind bars.
What she doesn’t know is that Matty asked cellmate Les to beat him up so he could get some respite from the risk to his life.
Viewers know that Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) was accidentally stabbed when his friend Josh Cope (Osian Morgan) pushed him into a knife that Matty was holding, and Josh has threatened Samson into telling the police that Matty was to blame.
Moira paid Matty another visit in hospital, and she remained worried sick as she urged him to ask for protection in jail. Matty insisted that he couldn’t report his attack, secretly aware that he couldn’t make accusations that weren’t, as yet, true.
Back in the village, Matty’s wife Amy (Natalie Ann Jamieson) told Mack how stupid she felt for mistaking nasty Robbo for Les, and unwittingly outing Matty as transgender, putting him in danger.
The pair were disgusted when Samson casually sauntered by while on the phone to Josh, but they were interrupted by a call from Moira, who wept that she simply had to ensure Matty’s freedom, and fast.
Mack confronted Samson’s defensive dad Sam (James Hooton), pointing out that Samson and Josh’s imminent trip to Europe was convenient, as they were clearly fleeing from their misdeeds.
When Amy went to see him, guilt-ridden Matty confessed that he had orchestrated his own attack out of fear of staying in Robbo’s orbit. Amy was stunned, but devastated at just how desperate her husband had become.
Meanwhile, Moira and Mack forcibly removed Samson from his home and took him to Butler’s Farm, where they made him listen to the extent of Matty’s ordeal.
Samson repeated that this wasn’t his problem, but as Moira reminded him that she had already lost one child, her daughter Holly Barton (Sophie Powles), and revealed how much danger Matty was in as a transgender inmate, it wasn’t long before Samson’s guilt was written all over his face.
At the Woolpack, Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) alerted Sam and Lydia (Karen Blick) to the fact that Samson was missing from his shift.
While they searched for him, Samson admitted to Moira that Josh had made him target Matty, and now wouldn’t let him tell the truth.
Mack urged Samson to lie that Josh had attacked Matty, and Samson eventually agreed, letting Moira drive him to the police station. He convinced her to leave him there, and Moira was optimistic that things were finally looking up.
But back at Butler’s, PC Mike Swirling (Andy Moore) arrived to arrest Moira and Mack for kidnap and false imprisonment, after Samson made a report on their behaviour. Will the truth come out, or are Matty’s relatives set for prison sentences of their own?
Read more:
- Emmerdale stars reveal Sam and Lydia’s conflicting reactions to Samson bombshell
- Emmerdale’s Lucy Pargeter on how cancer changed Chas and her take on Belle and Tom’s storyline
- Emmerdale confirms touching tribute to Steve Halliwell with Zak Dingle death
- Emmerdale confirms former Coronation Street star cast as new Sugden arrival
Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 7:30pm on ITV1. Stream on ITVX.
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