Paddy Kirk’s (Dominic Brunt) search for his dad might be fast heading for a tragic conclusion in Emmerdale.
Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) went missing in the summer after he fell out with his son and headed off to see friends to get some space. Only, he never arrived at his friend’s, and it transpired instead he was much closer to home than anyone realised – held captive as a slave by Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) and Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) on their farm.
They brainwashed him into believing they were taking good care of him, ensuring he’d never leave.
Celia was furious when she later discovered Bear was from the local village, berating Ray for putting their operation at risk. But still, Ray refused to get rid of him and instead, Ray found a fondness for the former wrestler. Perhaps Bear reminded him of his grandad.
It was good news for Bear as it kept him alive but also meant he remained a slave to Celia and Ray’s operation.
Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) discovered Bear’s whereabouts by chance and kept it to himself. He was forced to reveal what he knew to April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) when he learned she had agreed to leave Emmerdale with the pair to save her family. He needed her to make her see how dangerous they are.
April immediately risked her own life to go to the farm and save Bear. But Bear has been so brainwashed that he refused to leave with her, despite recognising who she was from his past life. He said he thought Celia and Ray had been good to him and that Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) wanted nothing to do with him.
Before April could convince him otherwise, she was forced to leave without him.
But things took an horrific turn for poor Bear. Celia, who had decided they needed to up sticks and take their operation elsewhere, revealed to Ray that she had brutally murdered Bear, watching him suffer an agonising death. Her cruel admission sealed her own fate, as not long after, Ray drove a knife into her cold heart.
He then walked to the barn where Bear’s body seemingly lay, apologising to him. No one apart from Ray knows what happened.
The next turn of events sees Ray found dead and details of his sordid illegal activities start to come to light. Paddy is still desperate to find Bear and goes on a desperate hunt for him.
Another thing no one else yet knows is that the soil next to Anya’s grave – Bear’s fellow slave who died on the farm and was buried on Moira Dingle’s (Natalie J Robb) land – has been disturbed. Is it Bear’s final resting place?
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Things look futile for Paddy as there is next to no evidence of his dad, and as Paddy’s hopes wane, Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) accidentally makes things worse when trying to console him.
He heads home to be comforted by Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), but soon after, Jai is led away for questioning by DS Walsh after it’s discovered he was the last to use the van Ray’s body was found in.
Paddy has a shred of hope left and prepares to continue the search, but with Moira also in the frame and having her farm searched, will Paddy learn the devastating truth of his dad’s fate sooner rather than later?
