ITV Emmerdale fans 'work out' why Caleb Miligan is on ventilator in dark twist

Emmerdale viewers believe they've pieced together the puzzle of why Caleb Miligan ends up on a hospital ventilator, and it all points to Joe Tate. As regular viewers of the ITV soap will recall, Caleb (played by William Ash) was depicted unconscious in a hospital bed, hooked up to life-supporting machines during a suspenseful flashforward.

This has led fans to suspect Joe (Ned Porteous) is behind Caleb's health crisis. Caleb is the offspring of Frank Tate (Norman Bowler), making him the half-brother of Chris Tate, Zoe Tate, Jamie Tate, and Liam Hammond.

Since Joe is Chris's son, he is also Caleb's half-nephew. In a recent twist, Joe was revealed to have drugged his half-brother Noah Dingle (Jack Downham) following a devastating limousine accident.

Viewers had earlier seen Noah's mother, Charity (Emma Atkins), swerve the girls' limo into a frozen lake to avoid hitting her son, who was aimlessly wandering in the road.

While the other women battled to escape the icy waters, Charity managed to reach her unconscious son and get him to the hospital.

Upon regaining consciousness, doctors confirmed Noah had been drugged. A blurry flashback showed Noah in a hospital bed, with Joe and a doctor preparing a syringe for injection, reports Leeds Live.

The flashback is seen through Noah's eyes, making it difficult to interpret.

Joe has also been concealing a secret health issue, leading to speculation that he requires a medical transplant and is seeking Noah's assistance.

However, some fans believe Joe will approach Caleb to determine if they are a genetic match in an organ donation twist.

One social media user speculated: "With everything pointing to Joe having had some medical procedure done on a drugged up Noah to find out if he is compatible as an organ donor and is also seeing a flat-lining Caleb in the flashforward, could Caleb be the one that Joe gets whatever it is he needs, from?"

Another added: "He is Joe's uncle after all and could be a genetic match."

A third suggested: "Caleb's flash forward, Joe Tate probably needs an organ to steal, if it is a heart he needs, I think he takes it from Caleb, also in the flash forward with Caleb on an unusual "hospital" bed, the heart monitor has question marks instead of a "O" #emmerdale."

"'I'm guessing Joe needs a transplant of sorts (Bone marrow?), and they're testing Noah on the sly? OR DNA to prove Noah isn't a Tate after all? #Emmerdale", another fan theorised.

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX