Jacob Gallagher, played by Joe-Warren Plant, took centre stage in the latest episode of Emmerdale

Some Emmerdale fans are convinced a legendary character will return to help a villager who has hit rock bottom.

In Thursday’s hour-long Emmerdale, viewers witnessed a special edition of the ITV soap. It followed young medical student Jacob Gallagher, portrayed by Joe-Warren Plant, as he experienced the high-stakes world of a busy A&E department.

The episode saw many Emmerdale villagers at the hospital. We saw appearances from Sarah, Marlon, Rhona and Moiria – with the latter being at the hospital for follow-up treatment to her recent brain tumour surgery.

Joe-Warren Plant, 22, who plays Jacob Gallagher in Emmerdale, has discussed the episode. He said: “When I met with our producer Sophie, she told me about this hour-long episode dedicated to Jacob’s first day of placement in A and E. I was hit with all these emotions. Knowing how many people have this high pressure job for real gave me the pressure to really knuckle down and get it right. Tackling this storyline scared me at first, but I feel honoured to know they trusted me enough to tell it. That means such a lot and I feel very honoured.”

Throughout the latest edition, viewers followed Jacob around the hospital. He was involved in a twist in the disappearance of teenager April.

Marlon and Rhona were informed that their daughter had tragically died, but when they were asked to identify the body, it was clear that Jacob had made an error as the girl he believed to be April, who sadly died, wasn’t Marlon’s daughter.

Elsewhere, Cain opened up to a fellow patient called Henry about his struggles with Moira’s illness and the death of dad Zak last year. Many viewers took to X to make their thoughts known about the special edition of Emmerdale and present their latest theories.

One being the mention of Jacob’s dad David who left the village after falling out with his son. One viewer @craggsy82 posted: “If life couldn’t get worse, Jacob’s mum is Leyla, and his dad is David.” While @kylieskaty added: “Your dad doesn’t talk to you Jacob because you drove him away. You were in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend.”

In the episode, Jacob was seen to hit rock bottom when a patient Henry died at the end of Thursday’s installment. Despite the issues mentioned above one fan thought Jacob’s David might return.

Fan @emmerdale28d said: “Jacob needs David back in his life.” While @sarah39f1 said: “Come on David, save Jabob. He needs you #emmerdale.”

David was played by Matthew Wolfenden until 2023 before he left the soap. We’ll have to see if he might potentially return to aid his son.