He’s barely had time to get comfortable since returning to Emmerdale, but tonight Graham Foster found himself facing police questioning after he was reported by a surprising culprit. The moment came at the end of a dramatic single-strand episode, which unpacked the emotional weight of Graham’s return on his son, Joe, and estranged wife, Kim.

In intense, heart-breaking scenes, Joe reeled from his dad’s comeback, after having grieved his apparent death several years ago.

He furiously told Graham about the lows he hit following the loss, and although Graham apologised, Joe said: “You were the closest thing I ever had to a father. Grief is like a hand that grabs you by the neck, and it never lets go.”

“You were the last person I wanted to hurt,” Graham said, but Joe remained unforgiving, recalling the “very dark paths” he fell into as a result of the apparent bereavement, including ill-health and a reliance on drugs that resulted in a kidney transplant.

Graham, clearly wracked with guilt, then had a heated chat with Kim. He told her he returned because Rhona needed his help and they traded barbs, with Graham telling her: “You are a disease.”

When she went to slap him, he grabbed her wrist, snarling: “If you’re going to show your teeth, make sure you can bite.”

He reminded Kim that they’re technically still married, prompting her to suspect that he only returned because he believes he’s entitled to some of her assets. Graham dismissed the accusation and said that while Rhona was what brought him back, Joe is the reason he’ll stay.

“I want you to do something very difficult. Try and imagine a world where the most important thing isn’t money,” he said. “I will do everything to show [Joe] that I am still the same man who’s always in his corner, wrong or right… He doesn’t need me, but maybe I need him.”

Just as Kim began to worry that Graham was winning Joe over, a knock at the door was revealed to be two police officers — there to take Graham away.

“You’re nothing but predictable. Pathetically predictable,” Graham told Kim. But Kim, it turned out, wasn’t the one who made the call… it was Joe.

“You did what you had to do,” Graham said, as he willingly left with the officers.

Where will things go for the dysfunctional trio from here?