Emmerdale viewers left heartbroken after fan-favourite character DIES
It was a dramatic night in the village
Emmerdale fans were left heartbroken after last night's (1st August) episode, which saw fan-favourite character Frank Clayton DIE, following an explosion at the factory.
Viewers saw Frank rush to save his daughter Tracy, who was trapped in a store room in the burning building. She was waiting in the room to surprise her date Billy, but the room got locked just minutes before the fire broke out.
After rushing into the inferno and struggling to free his daughter, Frank finally opened the door to get Tracy to safety, with viewers thinking the pair would be left unharmed, after Tracey was seen leaving the burning factory, albeit coughing and weak.
However, in true soap style, that sense of happiness wasn't set to last, as the factory exploded just as Frank was walking away from the burning building.
The explosion caused Frank to be propelled away from the factory and into the side of a van, leaving him fighting for his life, with paramedics unable to save him.
It was at this point Tracy screamed, "Please you've got to keep going. Please, you can't stop, he saved my life.
"Please dad. Don't go, not like this. I didn't even say thanks for saving me".
And feeling Tracy's pain were fans of the show, who took to Twitter to express their sadness over the character dying. One user wrote, 'Well I’m shocked, heartbroken, nay devastated, you’ve killed my Frank off!!! What the heck were you thinking? Well that’s it, I’m never going to be consoled', whilst another wrote, 'I am sad to say goodbye to Frank, he was a very entertaining character and in a way, he helped bring #Vanity together two years ago. #Emmerdale'.
There's no doubt the village is set to be rocked by the latest death, with the consequences of the fire affecting those closest to Frank.
Emmerdale continues tonight at 7pm.
See what's happening on this week's Emmerdale below!
In the aftermath of the devastating factory fire, the insurance people come poking around, and Rishi worries about how he'll afford to pay back Kim for her loan.
With the police and insurance company involved, Jai and Priya begin to grow increasingly suspicious about Manpreet and Rishi's involvement in the fire.
The next day, the family gathers to read through the terms of Kim's loan and Jai is furious when he realises that there's no way out of their predicament – other than to pay Kim her interest, by docking staff pay .
Later on, Kim offers a solutions – she'll buy the factory off the Sharmas, to help with their financial dilemma. Has this been her plan all along?
Back at Holdgate, Priya catches Manpreet trying to make a run for it, and her suspicions are heightened even further. Will she be able to convince her to stay and support her husband?
The next day Jai is horrified when he receives an email from the insurance company querying why the fire alarm had been turned off at the time of the fire. Is there more to this than meets the eye?
Meanwhile, Kerry is still desperately trying to convince Amy (and herself) that the fire at the factory had nothing to do with their after-hours foray to the safe.
However, when it's discovered that the factory safe is empty and missing the cash from the fundraiser, Kerry and Amy struggle to supress their guilt.
Later on, Kerry is called down to the police station and is caught under pressure when the investigating officer points out some elements in her story that don't add up.
Panicking, Kerry finds herself implicating another woman in the fire. Will her guilt overcome her or will she get away with it – for now?
Returning from the police station, Kerry is alarmed when she overhears Amy about to come clean to Nate about the fire, and quickly reprimands her, increasing the already high tensions.
At the Woolpack, and frazzled Kerry overhears Bernice discussing her fundraising work, and swiftly announces that she too will be holding a fundraiser for the children's hospital.
Amy is furious that Kerry would be so careless and draw attention to them like that. As the rest of the punters discuss the fundraiser, Amy seethes at Kerry.
Meanwhile, Nate is not best pleased when he goes looking for Moira and he's informed by Pete that she's gone to visit Nana Barton and won't be back for a few days.
Cain is shocked when Debbie tells him her news – that she's moving to Scotland, without Sarah – and worries about how Charity will react.
But Debbie is impressed with Sarah's rationale as she is more than encouraging of Debbie's move.
Vanessa is thrilled when Charity tells her that they'll be moving into Debbie's place when she leaves – but there's a condition...
Robert is struggling to persuade a reluctant Aaron to agree to the surrogacy after everything that's been going on with their family.
And when Natalie admits that she's also having second thoughts about the surrogacy, is it time to discuss everything that's happened?
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