Emmerdale viewers were left upset when fan-favourite Sam Dingle was sacked from Home Farm after a botched Christmas tree heist, leaving fans devastated for him.
Emmerdale fans are set for a surprise as a popular character suddenly finds themselves out of a job.
In the latest episode of the ITV soap, available on ITV X, Sam and Belle Dingle continued their frantic efforts to scrape together enough money to buy Lydia Dingle her cherished Jason Donovan VIP tickets.
During Wednesday’s show, Sam came up with a risky plan to steal Christmas trees from Home Farm, calculating that selling 20 of them at £50 each would pay for the tickets and fix the faulty electrics in their cottage. As the gamekeeper at Home Farm, Sam managed to persuade a hesitant Belle that Kim and Joe Tate would never suspect a thing.
However, their scheme quickly unravelled when Joe showed up at Wishing Well Cottage searching for the missing trees. After threatening to involve the police, he noticed some stray branches outside and immediately realised Sam and Belle were responsible.
Joe then summoned Sam to Home Farm, claiming he’d already reported the theft because rare Crossbill birds had been nesting in the stolen trees and their habitats had been destroyed, according to the Express.
Joe explained that the birds were a protected species, warning that anyone caught disturbing them could face hefty fines or even six months in prison for stealing the trees.
Shaken, Sam confessed and pleaded, only for Joe to reveal he’d been bluffing. Joe told him: “I know it was you — I found one of the trees in one of your sheds.
“What I can’t understand is why you’d steal from us after everything I’ve done for your family. I thought we were…”
He then cut Sam off, saying: “I don’t want your apologies. I want you gone!” before announcing: “You’re fired.”
A crushed Sam later drowned his sorrows in The Woolpack with Belle, lamenting: “I’m supposed to be the man of the house now, aren’t I? I can’t even afford a couple of tickets for my wife — I can’t get her anything!” before storming out.
Just then, Joe entered the pub, prompting Belle to call him out for firing Sam. She insisted: “He made a mistake. He’s broke, okay? We all are.”
“We need the house rewired, and all he was trying to do was scrape together enough cash to get Lydia those VIP Jason Donovan tickets.”
Joe defended his decision, insisting he would have lent Sam the money if he’d simply asked. Belle quickly retorted: “He’s proud and embarrassed. Are you so wealthy that you can’t even see that?”
Offering a solution, Belle mentioned she had a client in Manchester who ran a hotel and was looking for Christmas trees, adding: “You won’t be out of pocket, will you?”
Whether Sam will get his job back — and whether Joe has a change of heart — remains to be seen…
Emmerdale continues weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX.
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