Emmerdale – has the show just revealed Vinny Dingle's exit storyline?

Emmerdale has dropped the first major clue to Vinny Dingle's upcoming exit – by revealing that he's responsible for the crash that killed Jimmy King and Dawn Fletcher.

The show has just unleashed a curveball by confirming that Vinny was the mystery driver who Jimmy swerved to avoid on the road that day, rather than Gabby Thomas as fans had suspected.

Related: Emmerdale – here's what Jimmy and Sadie's shock flashback gave away

Jimmy went ploughing into Dawn and Joe Tate's wedding marquee last week and died at the scene. Meanwhile, pregnant Dawn was rushed to hospital and passed away from complications shortly after giving birth to a baby son.

Since the crash, Gabby has been behaving strangely but it turns out that she's not the guilty party – she's just concerned that her ex, Vinny, is keeping a dark secret…

In Thursday's episode, Gabby confronted Vinny, reminding him that she was on a video call with him at the time of the crash and knows that he encountered a serious problem on the road.

At the time, Vinny made out that he'd seen a deer in the road – and he's still sticking to the false story now, even though Gabby is deeply suspicious.

However, by the end of the episode, a flashback officially confirmed that Vinny really was the mystery driver who had been distracted behind the wheel – causing Jimmy to veer off course and crash into the marquee.

Related: Emmerdale fans predict key character return in Kim's secret daughter storyline

While nothing has been officially confirmed just yet, the bombshell revelation could seal Vinny's fate in the show. Back in May, it was reported that Bradley Johnson – who plays Vinny – is leaving Emmerdale after seven years.

The show didn't comment at the time, as it has a policy of not confirming most cast departures to avoid spoiling storylines.

Vinny has been behaving strangely since the crash, postponing his plans to propose to his boyfriend Lewis Barton because he's so distracted by his guilty secret.

Could Vinny be heading to jail in the coming weeks, or might he have to go on the run? Whatever the outcome, it seems that the countdown to his departure is on…

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

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