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Emmerdale airs Back to the Future inspired car theft as Joe Tate plots revenge in ITVX release

Warning: Contains spoilers for Friday's episode of Emmerdale, which airs at 8pm on ITV1 or can be streamed now on ITVX.

Joe Tate stood against a navy blue background and wearing a suit and pink shirt in Emmerdale

ITV

Published: Friday, 20 February 2026 at 11:42 am

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It's not often that a DeLorean rolls into a quaint Yorkshire village, and given this is Emmerdale, it was pretty much a guarantee that it was going to be nicked.

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Earlier this week, resident multi-millionaire Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) showed step-son Evan one of his favourite films - the 1985 science fiction film Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox.

The lads curled up on the sofa to watch the adventures of Marty McFly and his eccentric scientist mate Doc Brown, with Joe's fiancée Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley) warmed at the sight of him finally becoming somewhat of a family man.

Kammy takes a picture of Vinny posing beside a DeLorean in a scene from Emmerdale

Kammy (Shebz Miah) and Vinny (Bradley Johnson) were chuffed to see Joe's (Ned Porteous) new motor. ITV

Inspired by the film, he'd gone out to buy his very own DeLorean sports car. Today's episode saw Joe riding through the Yorkshire B-roads, quickly grabbing the attention of Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah) and Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson).

They were chuffed to find it parked up outside of David's Shop, and cheekily asked if they could take it for a spin.

Of course, the answer was no.

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However, watching on from afar was Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill). Just days before, Sarah had suggested that her 'Grumpy' get back onto the car thieving game to raise some money towards Butler's Farm's monetary woes.

Cain was firmly against it, though it seemed the sight of a flashy 80s motor had clearly changed his mind.

Later that day, the two sat proudly beside the vehicle, hoping to find a seller for it. They knew that it would only be a matter of time before Joe arrived to point the finger, and sure enough, he was hot on their heels.

Cain looks disapproving in the direction of Kammy and Sarah in a scene from the Emmerdale garage

Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Sarah (Katie Hill) stole the vehicle. ITV

By the time he reached Butler's, the DeLorean was parked up inside of a barn and Cain denied all knowledge. Joe could clearly see he was lying, and Cain decided to play something of a game with him.

He said that for £200, he'd open the barn doors and reveal whether the car was inside. Joe was tempted by the offer, but decided to play the long game instead.

That way, he'd have more leverage over Cain during his plight for the other 50% of his homestead.

Should Cain be worried?

Read more:

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1. Stream on ITVX.

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Authors

Michael Adams wearing a white t-shirt and beige gilet against a white background

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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