Emmerdale airs Vinny Dingle exit after 7 years with major sentencing twist in early ITVX release

There's going to be one less family member around the Dingle dining table moving forward - as Vinny (Bradley Johnson) has bid farewell to Emmerdale in today's episode.

It all boils down to the deaths of Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley), which he inadvertently caused in August.

After returning to her wedding marquee following an attempt to flee the village with ex-hubby Billy (Jay Kontzle), Dawn pledged her allegiance to fiancé Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) and was ready to proceed with their ceremony.

Suddenly, a car crashed through the tent and towards the couple. Jimmy was the driver, and he had no recollection of how the disaster had occurred. Very sadly, during a conversation with his wife Nicola (Nicola Wheeler), he passed away.

But the drama was far from over, as in the aftermath of an explosion, Dawn was rushed to hospital and gave birth to a baby boy. Joe was beside her in bed talking about their happy future, though when he went to get her some water, she also died.

A flashback later revealed that Vinny was on a video call to Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) at the time of the accident, and that Jimmy had been forced to swerve to avoid a collision.

Today's episode saw the Dingles prepare for Vinny's appearance in court, and mum Mandy (Lisa Riley) was sure that, with it being his first offence, he wouldn't be sent down for very long.

Two letters were shown arriving at Home Farm and Victoria Cottage, with Joe tossing his on the side and Nicola throwing hers in the kitchen bin. She had no intentions of going to court to learn of the outcome, knowing that her daughter Angelica (Rebecca Bakes) was once in a similar situation after killing classmate Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling) in an RTC.

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In the courtroom, the judge said that she intended to make an example of Vinny, and that he'd be locked up for the next 10 years. He was devastated, and a tearful Mandy fell into husband Paddy's (Dominic Brunt) arms.

News soon reached the village, where Kev Barton (Chris Coghill) comforted son Lewis (Bradley Riches). Just weeks ago, Lewis was planning a future with Vinny.

Meanwhile, Nicola and Mandy shared a tender moment. Although justice had been served, for Nico', it was never going to bring her beloved Jimmy back. She was sorry that another family had now been destroyed.

In the instalment's closing moments, a series of short scenes showed the residents adapting to Vinny's absence, and him being guided out of the courtroom and into a cell. Nicola and Joe eventually opened their letters, which had been penned by Vinny the night before.

He expressed his deepest apologies for what had happened, though seemed to accept that a custodial sentence it was the best possible outcome - regardless of how long that would be.

Intriguingly, the judge was then seen getting into her car after finishing work for the day. She placed her judicial wig onto the passenger seat and then opened a briefcase containing wads of cash.

Earlier, we saw Joe in possession of the same case, and so it seems that he paid the judge to give Vinny a lengthier sentence.

Will we ever see Vinny in the village again?

Read more:

• Emmerdale star teases "rocky road" for Sarah Sugden - and reveals hopes for Debbie Dingle return
• Emmerdale airs explosive Nicola and Sadie King scenes at Jimmy's funeral in early ITVX release

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.

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