💔 A FATHER’S INSTINCT — WITH DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES: Bear believed he was saving his son as Ray beat Paddy. But the moment he grabbed Ray, everything changed forever

Yesterday in Emmerdale, we finally discovered who killed Ray Walters (Joe Absolom).

And suffice to say it was a shocker.

Moments prior to his death, Ray was confronting Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) in Tenants. The drug dealer was annoyed that his plan to be with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) had fallen apart, and he blamed it on Dylan.

As Ray started to beat Paddy, Bear entered the house. This left the trio in shock, as they were all under the impression Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) had killed Bear.

A moment of realisation suddenly overwhelmed Bear and he was hit with the fact his son was in danger. Bear grabbed Ray and held his neck. He said he wanted the noise to stop, but Bear didn’t realise his strength and the force around Ray’s neck was killing him.

The opening of today’s episode allowed us to see what happened to Bear after that moment where Ray believed he was looking at his lifeless body. After Ray left the attic, Bear suddenly woke up.

He then wandered over the field opposite the farm, which would’ve eventually taken him to the village.

After Ray’s final moments, Paddy was left in a panic over what to do next. He believed that they needed to call the authorities, but Dylan pointed out that no-one from the emergency services would truly consider everything Bear has been through – they’d just see him as a murderer.

Dylan was convinced they needed to dispose of Ray’s body themselves, and Paddy was horrified at how calm Dylan was about the entire thing.

Sat beside Ray’s body, Bear spent time believing that he was just injured. His confused state was hard for Paddy to deal with, as he had to listen to his dad say how Ray looked after him, and that they were actually friends while on the farm.

At one point, Bear got up and wandered into the hallway. He glanced at a picture of him from a few years ago, and then turned around and saw what he looked like in the mirror.

Bear has been severely drugged up for ages, and is also suffering from Stockholm Syndrome – the contrast in the picture to the horrendous state he’s in now was guaranteed to add to his confusion.

Dylan and Paddy decided that they’d move Ray’s body into a depot truck ahead of disposing of it. They wrapped it up but while preparing the van, Dylan and Paddy failed to stop Bear from pulling the body outside.

The characters prevented themselves from getting caught, and hid Ray’s body among some boxes. To their horror, Dylan and Paddy then saw Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) getting inside the van and driving off.

Paddy eventually came to understand that Dylan was right about not telling the police.

Together, they created a plan that would see Paddy feign ignorance when April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) eventually told him about Bear. It was all done with the intention of protecting the vulnerable man.

A long road lies ahead for Paddy now his dad is back home. How will the next few weeks play out?