Fans of Emmerdale believe they've rumbled a double return as part of Jacob Sugden's ongoing storyline. Jacob (played by Joe-Warren Plant) has had a busy few months in the Dales.
His mum, Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi), tragically died in the limo crash last year, which also claimed the lives of Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson) and Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough). Jacob was then left stunned when his grandad, Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell), unexpectedly married Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) on Christmas Eve 2025 in an effort to keep Jacob's inheritance safe.
Jacob and his wife, Sarah (Katie Hill), became parents last week when Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) gave birth to their daughter, Leyla, in a hospital lift. However, Jacob and Sarah have yet to learn that Leyla is actually Charity's biological child with Ross Barton (Michael Parr).
To make the situation even more complicated, Jacob's twisted boss Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) blackmailed Charity into getting Jacob to redact his complaint about her, or she'd tell the youngster who Leyla's real parents were.
ITV soap viewers will know that Dr Todd has been terrorising Jacob over the past few weeks, which led to the trainee doctor submitting a complaint to HR regarding his supervisor's unethical teaching methods.
During Thursday's (April 30) episode, which is now available to stream on ITVX, Jacob continues to find it awkward around Dr Todd. Later, Todd, Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) and Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) are all bonding in the pub when Mary Goskirk (Louise Jameson) suggests a doubles darts match, and puts Todd and Vanessa on the same team.
As the match commences, Vanessa's oblivious to Todd's flirting. But Todd later uses the opportunity to sew some untruths about Jacob. "This morning, when we met at the café, he engineered it so that we could talk to each other alone. And now he's here, taking up my space," Todd said.
Now, several Emmerdale fans believe that Jacob's adoptive mum, Alicia Metcalfe (Natalie Anderson), and his biological dad, Justin Gallagher (Andrew Langtree), could return to the village to meet baby Leyla, as well as help Jacob take down Dr Todd.
Alicia notably left the Dales back in 2015, though actress Natalie Anderson has since returned to the world of soaps as Danielle Silverton in Coronation Street. Meanwhile, Justin bid farewell to Emmerdale in 2012 after Jacob refused to live with him and his new partner.
"Just thinking Alicia Gallagher could come back to meet the baby and also we need to see Justin," one person wrote on a Facebook fan page, with another adding: "Omg Alicia would take down Todd in a heartbeat."
A third said: "Yess I would love this," while another fan suggested: "Previous characters need recasting. It would be [a] great opportunity to bring in new storylines."
Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and STV, while Coronation Street airs weekday nights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and STV as part of ITV's new soap power hour scheduling pattern for Coronation Street and Emmerdale
