James Baxter’s Emmerdale character, Jake Doland, will soon be waving goodbye to the Dales when he heads out of the village for the sunnier climbs of Spain.

In scenes to be aired this week, we’ll see Jake feeling increasingly guilty about conning blind Lizzie out of her £500 scratch card winnings. His guilty conscience eventually forces him to confess keeping the money and splitting it with Eli…

When the villagers find out what Jake’s done, he’s treated frostily by almost everyone, but Marlon, knowing how much Jake wants to spend time with his family, takes pity on the shunned chef and gives him the money for his airfare.

James has been in the soap since 2007 and while it seems a comeback isn’t likely in the near future, the door has been “left open” for James to return in the future.