Emmerdale confirms exit for character amid heartbreaking new health storyline

There was some news in the latest episode of Emmerdale that confirms an exit for one character.

One character will seemingly leave the show imminently, announcing their plans to be out of the village by the end of the week. Bosses had confirmed a departure would be on the cards temporarily as part of the mystery new storyline.

Amid fears for Bear in a secretive storyline that has seen his personality change and him displaying concerning behaviour, the character will flee the village for around a month if not longer. When he returns, he will spark concern with characters and viewers as there's clearly something not right with him.

He will be different, with his loved ones and pals set to miss the signs of what's really going on. Bear will exit the soap for a while and won't be onscreen for weeks, and it's this brief exit that was confirmed on Monday night.

He told his son Paddy Kirk after yet another run-in that he was going to stay with a friend in Ireland. He confirmed he would be leaving this coming Friday, meaning the scenes will likely air on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

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It's not known if we will see or hear from Bear in his absence, but it's thought he will be AWOL and not in contact with Paddy or anyone. When he returns, more about what's going on with him will be revealed until we finally find out what''s happened.

It's been tipped to be something health related, with concerns from fans suggesting it could be a physical or mental health issue. Paddy was seen confiding in Gabby Thomas and Marlon Dingle that he was worried his dad may have dementia.

Some fans are worried it might be a brain or head injury from his wrestling days, or he may be diagnosed with a tumour. Other health conditions were also suggested, after "symptoms" in recent scenes included confusion, forgetfulness and Bear lashing out.

He's been physically and verbally aggressive, pinning Paddy up against a wall and attacking Kammy too. He's been seen with a temper, and on Monday after Paddy was seriously injured in a dog attack, the character slammed his own son saying he let people walk all over him.

Trashing his son's character he left Paddy heartbroken, before he fumed about Paddy's wife Mandy Dingle too in a judgmental way. He's acting very out of character, and the aggression and his recent funny turn, which saw him nearly collapse, and the fact he's angry one moment and then completely calm the next, has left fans fearing the worst.

One viewer speculated: "Brilliant performance from Joshua Richards in tonight’s #Emmerdale. Could bear have a tumour, Alzheimer's disease, depression or something totally different." A newer theory saw fans predicting he was suffering with a brain condition called Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), thought to be linked to repeated head injuries.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads.