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A beloved Emmerdale star has confirmed what happens next to Jacob Sugden, and it's not good news. ITV soap viewers will know that Jacob (played by Joe-Warren Plant) has been going through a tough time recently.

His mother, Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi), tragically died in the limo crash last year, which also took the lives of Amy Barton (Natalie Ann Jamieson) and Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough). Jacob and his wife, Sarah (Katie Hill), recently welcomed their first child when Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) delivered their daughter, Leyla, in a hospital lift. However, Jacob and Sarah remain unware that Leyla is actually Charity's biological child with Ross Barton (Michael Parr).

To complicate matters further, Jacob's evil boss Dr Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) blackmailed Charity into persuading Jacob to withdraw his complaint against her, or she'd reveal Leyla's true parentage. Dr Todd has notably been tormenting Jacob in recent weeks, leading the youngster to lodge a formal complaint with HR.

Jacob actor Joe-Warren Plant appeared on ITV's This Morning on Wednesday (May 6), where he spoke to hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about his character's bullying storyline.

"It's a storyline that has so many layers to it, with Todd being Jacob's consultant as well. He wants to do his best in his professional career, so obviously he's always going to try and do everything he can to please her. So, it's really difficult for him at the moment. Obviously he's just had a baby, he's got a lot on his plate," he said.

The actor continued: "He always tries to keep his head down and manage himself the best he can, he doesn't like to open up and admit that things are getting too much for him. It was Leyla, his mum's dying wish for him to do well in his career, so he's always got his mum in the back of his mind."

Speaking about how Todd's bullying continues on the soap, Joe-Warren added: "The fact that he's newly married as well, it's taking its toll on the marriage with Sarah. It's too much for him to be honest."

The actor also addressed the prospect of Jacob learning that Leyla isn't his biological daughter. "What I will say is when baby Leyla grows a beard and starts talking in a Scouse accent, we'll know something's up," he joked.

On a more serious note, the star shared: "I think it will crush Jacob to be fair. One thing about him, he's always had an inconsistent family life growing up. One thing that he wants since Leyla's passing is to be a father figure and parent that was never really there for him.

"So, he wants to be stable and mature in that sense, because everything else in his life is going the wrong way to be honest. So, having a baby [is] a new role to kind of take on. [It's] important for him."

Cat concluded: "It's going to get more complicated before it gets better, I think!"

Jacob eventually musters the courage to confront Todd during the latest episode after she maliciously implied to Sarah how her husband was desperate to return to work, despite their baby. A furious Jacob later found Todd in the Woolpack corridors and warned her off from lying to his wife. Will Todd listen to his warning?

Later, Sarah demanded to know what was happening, with Jacob finally coming clean about all of Todd's harassment. As Jacob tearfully confessed to all the bullying, Sarah comforted him and promised that they would face the problem together.

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