Emmerdale viewers have been speculating Jade has a secret identity and link to the village, while the latest episode of the ITV soap teased a revenge plot

Emmerdale viewers saw Dawn Taylor take on villainous newcomer Jade in the latest episode of the ITV soap.

She struck up a plan with her husband Billy Fletcher and his fight opponent Ross Barton to keep her family safe, after a sinister threat from Jade. The boxing promoter debuted recently, organising unlicensed fights for Billy in exchanged for cash.

When Billy was left badly injured recently he tried to end his deal with Jade but she turned nasty. Threatening Dawn and their children, Jade blackmailed Billy into fighting again, only for him to realise Ross was involved.

Ross returned to the village after six years as part of the storyline, and a recent match saw Billy win over champ Ross. Jade demanded a rematch to keep the people in charge happy, with her claiming she lost out on some big money due to Billy’s unexpected victory.

Dawn had a plan though after a scare with the kids, with Billy convinced Jade had kidnapped them. He was forced to tell Dawn all about the fights and Jade, with Ross also soon brought into their discussion.

Dawn was ready to take down Jade, not scared of the ruthless promoter who had just threatened both Ross and Billy into a rematch. Dawn told the guys they would need to fix the fight in a bid to get them out of the dodgy matches for good, while keeping everyone happy.

Emmerdale viewers have been speculating Jade has a secret identity and link to the village (Image: ITV)

Dawn had enough of the lies but also Jade’s meddling, after she even showed up at the house claiming to be a PT client of Billy’s. Dawn told the pair that they’d have to make the fight look real, but that Ross had to win.

She said they needed to stage the match so the fighting was real but both Ross and Billy knew what was coming, and how to make it look as though Ross had the upper hand. Billy fumed as Dawn told him he needed to lose, as they needed the previous loser, Ross, to reclaim his victory.

Dawn said this would not only secure the relevant people their money, but it would also give the crowd an entertaining fight that would stop them sussing it wasn’t real. Dawn plotted to get Jade off their backs for good, but will it work and will the men go through with it?

It comes as fans speculated Jade was secretly linked to a past villager, and that a DNA twist would trigger a return. While suspicion she was Caleb Miligan’s daughter Stephanie were ruled out by the soap, some fans think Jade could be a secret King, and the daughter of Patsy Kensit’s character Sadie King, if not another villager.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.