Chas refused to stay away after Caleb proved supportive towards her (Picture: ITV)

With Chas (Lucy Pargeter) rapidly running out of friends on Emmerdale, in tonight’s episode there seemed to be only two people left who were in her corner.

First was Charity (Emma Atkins), who always has her cousin’s back whatever the ups and down they go through and who has given her a roof over her head after Paddy (Dominic Brunt) told her to move out of the Woolpack.

Chas’s other ally is her newly-discovered brother, Caleb (William Ash). 

After meeting Caleb on Christmas Day when he appeared at Grace’s grave while Chas set off the firework made from Faith (Sally Dexter)’s ashes – an act which deeply annoyed Zack (Steve Halliwell), Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper), Sam (James Hooton) and Lydia (Karen Blick), who all wanted to be there – Chas had a lot of questions and she went to the prison to talk to the only man who could provide answers. Cain.

Their conversation covered a lot of the ground that we saw in yesterday’s flashback episode – about Cain taking the fall for Caleb after he stole a car and going to prison, leaving pregnant Chas with Gordon Livesy (Gary Mavers) – who turned out to be even more of an abuser than Shadrach (Andy Devine).

Chas still couldn’t forgive Cain for telling Caleb that Faith was dead – and for not telling Faith that the son she’d given birth to in prison had come looking for her.

Angry and hurt, Chas told Cain that she blamed him for Al (Michael Wildman)’s death and said she was done with him. 

‘While you’re at it can you be done with all of us?’ Cain told her. ‘You messed up Aaron (Danny Miller) and you’re messing up Eve (Bella James).’

Caleb gave Chas some advice (Picture: ITV)

Chas ultimately listened to what he had to say (Picture: ITV)

Back at the Woolpack Paddy was also of the opinion that Chas’s actions could mess up Eve’s life and he told her leaving the Woolpack wasn’t enough – he wanted her to leave the village, too, without her daughter. ‘You’ve got an hour and I want you gone,’ he said, raging after overhearing her describe Al as ‘the man I loved.’ 

At that point Caleb came in and was introduced to his extended family. Zack was quite relieved to hear that Caleb wasn’t one of his children, and Belle, Sam, Lydia and Charity all introduced themselves and their relationship to each other. It was all very complicated but Caleb seemed delighted to meet his new family.

He was less delighted to hear that Chas was packing her bags to leave the village. He sat with her as she packed and she told him about Al and what had happened, and about how Shadrach had been a vicious and brutal man. By giving Caleb away she’d been protecting him from Shadrach, she said.

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There’s an excellent on-screen rapport between Chas and Caleb. Rather than feeling like an add-on to the existing cast he genuinely feels like the missing piece of a puzzle we didn’t know was incomplete.

In a world where Chas doesn’t have many allies left, it felt important that there is someone who is on her side. Whether his motives turn out to be pure and genuine remains to be seen because it’s always possible he’s about to start some hideous revenge plot against Cain, but for now it was refreshing to see someone who doesn’t automatically hate Chas.

She told her brother how incredible Paddy was and how he’d saved Aaron’s life and she was sure he’d do a good job with Eve. 

Caleb said that she was letting guilt get in the way of what’s right for her daughter. He reminded her that life had got much worse for him, Cain and her when Faith had left them, and Eve needed her mother, too. 

When Paddy came back in, Chas told him she’d changed her mind and was staying put. ‘I won’t be bullied out of my life or out of my home,’ she told him. ‘So stuff our agreement – I’m moving back in tomorrow.’ 

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Chas is determined to fight.