Emmerdale drops major hint over Graham Foster return and police detective’s secret role
In Soapland, death is rarely the end of the story, and Emmerdale has proved it once again with Graham Foster who is officially back, six years after viewers watched him leave the village as nothing more than a decomposing body in the woods.
Last time around, Graham was found covered in leaves after Billy Fletcher and Priya Kotecha made the grim discovery. Now, against all odds, he is very much alive and quietly slipping back into the Dales in a twist that is already sending shockwaves through the village.
He popped up briefly in Corriedale at the start of January and then vanished again. Joe Tate is convinced he spotted him and has been digging into whether Graham really died all those years ago.
*WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the Emmerdale episode on Friday January 16, which has not aired on ITV yet but is available on ITVX and YouTube.
However, a surprise reappearance from Detective Inspector Dent in today’s ITVX early release seems to shut that theory down. She insists Graham is dead and buried. But is that reassurance actually hiding something far bigger?
This was how we last saw Graham in Emmerdale (Credit: ITV)
How did Graham Foster ‘die’ in Emmerdale?
Almost six years ago to the day, Graham was at the centre of one of Emmerdale’s biggest whodunnits. He had crossed so many villagers that half the place looked guilty.
His body was eventually found and Marlon was quickly blamed. At the time, Graham was planning to leave the village with Rhona Goskirk and take Marlon’s son Leo with him, giving Marlon a very clear motive.
Marlon ended up behind bars, but plenty of others raised eyebrows. Kim Tate had asked Al Chapman to deal with Graham, Jamie Tate wanted revenge after Graham wrecked his marriage, and Charity Dingle was furious after Graham locked her son Ryan Stocks in a shipping container.
In the end, the killer was revealed to be Rhona’s ex-husband and rapist Pierce Harris, freshly released from prison.
Graham has returned (Credit: ITV)
A return to the Dales
Fast forward six years and the Corriedale crash brought Graham back into the picture. He was behind the wheel of one of the vans, transporting a young woman who had been tied up in the back. She was later revealed to be Shona Platt’s sister from Coronation Street.
Graham appeared to be working for someone else, calling them to say the contract was off. He was also spotted at the hospital watching over his former surrogate son Joe Tate, who had been injured in the blast.
Show boss Laura Shaw confirmed the return, saying: “A familiar face is returning to the village full-time! None other than Graham Foster will make a sensational comeback.
“His return will have massive repercussions for both Kim, with whom he shares a complex love and hate relationship, and Rhona, who was about to run away with him.
“Graham will explain exactly what happened six years ago when he was ‘killed’, but the question will be whether Joe can ever forgive his father-figure for allowing him to believe he was dead.”
Detective Dent confirmed Graham was dead in Emmerdale, but is she lying? (Credit: ITV)
ITVX Emmerdale release hints at how Graham fakes his own death
In tonight’s episode, available early on ITVX, Joe admits to Dawn that he can’t shake the feeling Graham is still alive. He has even hired a private investigator to dig deeper.
When Joe meets her, she arrives with none other than DI Dent, the officer who originally led the investigation into Graham’s death back in 2020.
Dent is clearly irritated at being tracked down, but she leaves Joe in no doubt. Studying a photo of Graham, she states he is dead “without a doubt”. She adds: “I saw his body on the ground, I saw it at the morgue. This man’s been dead for six years so unless he’s Jesus…”
Joe seems convinced, but the final moments tell a different story. Outside, Dent is seen on the phone saying: “Yeah, it’s sorted. I told him exactly what he needed to hear.”
Eagle-eyed viewers will also have spotted her distinctive tattoo bearing the SAS motto ‘Who dares wins’. And Graham had been in the SAS before arriving in Emmerdale.
Is this the clue that finally explains how Graham pulled off the impossible? Did DI Dent help him fake his death, and are the pair now working together? One thing seems certain. Graham did not do this alone, and the truth is only just starting to unravel.
Read more: Emmerdale fans divided over ‘too dark’ storylines – but poll reveals surprise verdict
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 8pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
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