Last night’s episode of Emmerdale saw Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) confess to attacking Joe Tate (Ned Porteous), shoving him out of an upstairs window.

With multiple suspects having reason to want Joe dead (with motives ranging from missing kidneys to dead daughters), Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) soon emerged as prime suspect.

He was hauled into the police station, where he was formally arrested for the crime… only to be released again soon after, with Dawn having provided a false alibi to clear him of wrongdoing.

Back at Home Farm, she revealed that she’d told the police that they’d been in bed together at the time, leaving him confused as to how she could be so certain that he hadn’t attacked Joe.

Reasoning that she must know who really did it, he suspected that she was covering for daughter Clemmie (Mabel Addison) – leading Dawn to blurt out the truth, claiming that she’d been behind the attack.

But is Dawn telling the truth?

Emmerdale fans ‘work out’ who’s really to blame for Joe Tate’s attack? – and a twist awaits’
Something about Dawn’s story didn’t sit right with Billy Fletcher (Picture: ITV)
Emmerdale fans ‘work out’ who’s really to blame for Joe Tate’s attack? – and a twist awaits’

Dawnr revealed that she’d been the one who pushed Joe (Credit: ITV)
Taking to social media in the wake of last night’s scenes, viewers shared their thoughts on Dawn’s admission of guilt.

‘I don’t believe her – I think she’s covering for Clemmie,’ said joneslily65.

‘I think Dawn is covering for her or she’s seen/heard something cause it’s too easy for her to confess like that,’ wrote Wee_Westie29.

‘Just watched tonight emmerdale and this for sure Dawn is covering for Clemmie,’ agreed hardysknight.

‘I’m convinced that Dawn didn’t push Joe and she’s covering for Clemmie who is the real culprit. Has Clemmie already confessed? Or did Dawn see her do it?’ wondered RyanSoapKing25.

Is Dawn covering for Clemmie?

Editorial use only Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/Mark Bruce/Shutterstock (15280083bc) Emmerdale – Ep 10285 Tuesday 6th May 2025 Joe Tate, as played by Ned Porteous, tries to bribe Clemmie, as played by Mabel Addison,with a present for her silence, but finding her dismantling it later, Joe is angry, threatening Clemmie she’ll be sent into care if Dawn finds out about the bite. As Clemmie fights tears, Joe stands firm, forcing her to agree to stay quiet. ‘Emmerdale’ TV Show, Episodes 10284 – 10301 UK – May 2025 Emmerdale, is a British ITV long running soap opera, known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989, set in Emmerdale, a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. It was created by Kevin Laffan and was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. It was originally produced by ITV Yorkshire and is still filmed in their Leeds studios.
Joe threatened Clemmie after she learned the truth about him and Dawn (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
As Billy had been quick to point out, Clemmie had plenty of reason to want Joe dead, having caught him kissing Dawn soon after she broke up from Billy.

Rubbing salt onto the wound, her mum’s new man then grabbed her in the aftermath – causing her to bite him.

Rejecting his attempts to bribe her into silence, Clemmie was left terrified after he threatened her, telling her that she’d be sent into care if she said anything about the kiss.

But say something she did, telling Billy about Joe and Dawn’s kiss, and how he’d threatened her afterwards.

Clemmie tells Billy about Joe’s threat in Emmerdale
An upset Clemmie revealed all to dad Billy (Picture: ITV)
While it would be quite the feat of strength for little Clemmie to shove a grown man through an entire window, she’s already demonstrated herself capable of rage.

And, with Billy previously attacking Ross Barton (Michael Parr) after mistakenly thinking he was Dawn’s other man, she doesn’t exactly have the best influences in her life.

Might Clemmie have lashed out at the party, pushing Joe out of the window?

Clemmie siezes up when she talks to Dawn in Emmerdale
Dawn would do anything for her children (Picture: ITV)
Meanwhile, star Olivia Bromley has weighed in, revealing why Dawn might have pushed Joe.

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‘I would say it’s a classic crime of passion,’ the actress told us. ‘She’s given up everything for this man that she thought was so different, then she finds out what he did to Clemmie. I think it was that moment of lioness mother power, basically.’

‘How I imagine what happened is that she comes in and tries to confront him and he turns on his manipulation, and enough is enough. I think it’s an accident, a pure accident. It wasn’t like “I’m going to kill you,” it just happened,’ she said of the attack.But are things really so cut and dry?