Has Pierce Harris left Emmerdale for good?

During Emmerdale's dramatic double bill on Thursday 27th February, Paddy Kirk collected his best mate at the gates as he got his first taste of freedom since being wrongly accused of the crime last month.

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Viewers knew all along evil rapist Pierce was responsible, and bludgeoned Kim Tate's ex-butler to death in a twisted bid to protect ex-wife Rhona Goskirk from her violent new beau.

Pierce then sneaked around the village for weeks before revealing his presence to Vanessa Woodfield and taking her and son Johnny hostage.

A tense showdown with Rhona earlier this week saw his spouse turn the tables and trick him into admitting everything while secretly recording the damning confession and live streaming it online.

Pierce gave a sinister smile as he exchanged glances with haunted Marlon outside the jail, but the nightmare is not completely over for the distressed Dingle who is set to struggle with the fact many of the locals suspected of killing Graham protected themselves - by hiding evidence that incriminated them but may have got him off the hook.

However, it appears justice is done and Pierce is out of everyone's lives once again. The character was jailed for sexual assault in 2017 and his return for the whodunnit was kept under wraps until his surprise appearance in the woods standing over Mr Foster's body, at which point Wrather revealed he was only back in the show "for a little bit", with the understanding being it was not a permanent return to the cast.

So with Rhona having got the last word and Marlon's innocence proven, it certainly feels like this is the end of creepy Pierce's second stint. Unless he's planning to do more damage from behind bars - and we wouldn't put anything past him…

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