DS Walsh (Amanda Ryan) believes she’s found the evidence to prove Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) helped cover up Ray Walters’ (Joe Absolom) death in Emmerdale.
Yesterday, the ruthless detective was back in town after getting news that Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) had disappeared from the hospital.
At Tenants, Walsh explained to Paddy, Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) and Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) that once Bear is found, he will be re-arrested.
Paddy went on a desperate search for his dad, and eventually found Bear sitting beside the now empty grave he dug for refugee Anya.
Bringing his dad home, Paddy gently suggested to Bear that he should consider spending time at a mental health hospital. He’d get the help he needs, but it would also prevent Bear from going back to prison.
Bear agreed and Paddy drove him to the unit. When he got home, DS Walsh paid him a visit at the vets and pointed out that as soon as Bear is well enough, the murder investigation will continue.
As this conversation played out, Walsh spotted something out of the corner of her eye. That evening, she returned, and claimed to Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) that she had lost her phone in order to get access to one of the back rooms.
Vanessa didn’t say much, which meant the detective was free to head into the room and take a picture of something. Outside, Walsh rang her colleague and explained that Paddy needed to go to the station again, because she had found new evidence.
The evidence in question was some rope, the same type that Paddy picked up when he was trying to move Ray’s body from his house to the depot van.
While it seemed like this development had practically sealed Paddy’s fate, a number of fans of the ITV soap have pointed out that DS Walsh obtained the evidence in the wrong way, meaning it might not even be admissible in court.
On our Metro Soaps Facebook page, plenty of our readers highlighted that Walsh only found the rope by lying to Vanessa so she could let herself into the back of the vets. She should’ve either told her the truth, or arrived with a warrant.
Courtney wrote: ‘But the detective got that evidence through trickery and without a warrant.’
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Annette said: ‘That evidence won’t be admissible in court, she didn’t have a search warrant and lied’.
Also noticing Walsh’s mistake, Kim added: ‘It’s illegal for her to take the photo without permission, it’s inadmissible in court’.
In this evening’s episode, now available on ITVX, Paddy stands his ground and refuses to tell Walsh that he helped Bear after Ray’s death.
When he returns home, he reiterates to Mandy and Dylan that it’s vital they stick to the cover story.
Will any of them work out the evidence potentially isn’t strong enough to prove Paddy’s involvement?
DS Walsh is determined to get Paddy to confess and nail the case, but has this desperate mistake now confirmed he’s in the clear?