Bear is located in upcoming scenes – but things aren’t what they seem (Picture: ITV)
The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.
The latest episode of Emmerdale finally confirms what happened to Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) when he disappeared a few months ago.
Back in the summer, Bear left the village after a tense time with son Paddy Kirk (Domonic Brunt), who asked him to leave after Bear’s strange behaviour put Eve at risk.
Bear agreed to leave and told Paddy he had somewhere to go, claiming to be off to his friend’s place in Ireland. But it was a terrible lie, one, it will transpire, that has put Bear in an unspeakable situation.
Paddy has been blissfully unaware of his dad’s troubles, believing him to be off on a jolly with his friends, until a package arrived that made him realise Bear had never got to where he was supposed to go.
After calling all of Bear’s friends, Paddy became really concerned to learn Bear is in fact missing.
The next step for Paddy is to get the police involved. He makes a statement, but Paddy is heartbroken when Swirling tells him that as Bear isn’t an immediate risk, he’s not a priority.
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Mandy and Paddy are worried about Bear (Picture: ITV)
Paddy knows if he wants to find his dad, he’ll have to do it himself. Thankfully, he has Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) there to help, but they get nowhere with the car hire company Bear used and Paddy begins to wonder if Bear chose to walk away from his family.
As they undertake the mammoth task of tracking Bear down, they ask Matty (Ash Palmisciano) to watch Eve. He takes Eve and Isaac on a walk and innocently suggests they go on a ‘bear’ hunt.
Eve spots something, and the youngster excitedly yells at Matty that she’s found the Bear, she’s found her granddad.
Matty is horrified how his harmless game has descended into heartbreak for the little girl and is forced to confess to Mandy and Paddy what he’s done. But is Eve onto something?
The special standalone episode, which airs tonight, details what has happened so far in the 100 days Bear has been away from the village.
Bear Wolf has been living in a rundown barn on Celia’s farm (Picture: ITV)
In Friday’s instalment, we saw Bear briefly sitting in a barn on Celia Daniels’ (Jaye Griffiths) farm. He looked horrendous and also recognised Anya, the young woman who arrived in England in the back of a truck from Caleb Miligan’s (William Ash) depot.
The storyline involving Bear will look at modern day slavery. One of the most common types of it is forced labour, where vulnerable victims are lured into situations with kindness and false promises, manipulated and groomed and then made to work for no pay, with no escape.
The soap has been working with The Salvation Army to aid with the research and development of the story all along the way.
Kathy Betteridge, Director of Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery for The Salvation Army said: ‘Forced labour is one of the most hidden, but widespread forms of modern slavery in the UK today.
The episode tonight is the second of three instalments that solely focus on one storyline (Picture: ITV)
‘We’re thankful to Emmerdale for using this storyline to expose the brutal truth – people are being exploited in plain sight, from farms and factories to cafés, car washes, homes and hotels.
‘Victims are often isolated, threatened, and made to feel they have no way out. But there is a way out with the right, compassionate support, recovery is possible.
‘Storylines like this, delivered with attention to detail and authenticity, help the public recognise what modern slavery really looks like and how vital it is to act when something doesn’t feel right.’
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