💔🔥 Emmerdale TRAGEDY: Fan-Favourite’s Fate Finally Exposed in Early ITVX Episode — Hearts Are Breaking Across the Dales! 😱😭 Could this really be the end for them? 🤔🕯️

This article contains spoilers for tonight’s Emmerdale, which has not yet aired on TV but is available to watch now on ITVX.

Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) made a horrifying discovery in tonight’s Emmerdale, when he realised that dad Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) wasn’t where he thought he was.

Paddy and Bear had fallen out before Bear left the village a few months ago, with Paddy believing that his dad had gone to stay with a friend in Ireland.

However, in tonight’s episode, Paddy received a parcel addressed to Bear, and Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) encouraged him to open it.

It was a good job that she did, as the parcel turned out to be from the friend Bear was supposed to be staying with.

Reading the letter enclosed, Paddy discovered that the friend, Gnasher, hadn’t heard from Bear in a long time, which proved he hadn’t been there at all. Paddy and Mandy looking through some items looking confused in Emmerdale

Paddy and Mandy looking through some items looking confused in Emmerdale — Paddy Kirk and Mandy Dingle made a horrifying discovery while checking Bear’s mail (Picture: ITV)

Obviously, this sparked concern for Paddy, who instantly began to catastrophise, assuming that his dad was dead.

Having rung round all of Bear’s friends and found that no one had heard from him, Paddy was losing hope.

Though Mandy tried to convince him that Bear was just being stubborn after their row, Paddy pointed out that he wouldn’t have missed Eve’s birthday unless something bad had happened.

As Paddy decided to get the police involved, viewers found out where Bear really was – and it was much closer than anyone realised.

It transpired that he was actually locked in a room on Celia Daniels’ (Jaye Griffiths) farm, just down the road from the village.

In fact, Paddy had been there on business only that morning, with no idea that Bear was inside.

Celia Daniels angrily grabbing April Windsor by her jacket in Emmerdale. — Celia Daniels has been targeting vulnerable characters (Picture: ITV)

While we won’t give away the exact circumstances surrounding the reveal of Bear’s whereabouts – you’ll have to tune in for that – we can reveal that things aren’t looking good for the beloved character.

We know that Celia and son Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) are ruthless when it comes to their despicable business, and they don’t care who gets hurt along the way.

They have already targeted vulnerable April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle), manipulating them into dealing drugs.

Now, it seems they’ve got their claws into Bear and who knows how many others. But how far does this ring stretch, and how many more villagers are set to find themselves in danger?