(Friday 24^th January 2020)

So we finally reach the climax of the latest murder in the Dales, the demise of controversial character, Graham Foster.  Now, I for one am rather sad to see him go.  He’s not exactly the warmest guy in the world but he’s oddly likeable and at least with certain characters, such as Rhona and Noah, he does try to do the right thing.

So, in the fifth and finally episode of #WhoKilledGraham, we see the day from Graham and his killer, Pierce Harris’s perspective.  And as suspected, it dates back to the night we saw him cleaning up his bloodied hand with no explanation.  He heard a voicemail alerting Rhona that Pierce was due to be released and deleted it, tracking him down himself and warning him to stay away.  Well, you can imagine the bile that Pierce, a haggard version of the man he once was, spilled.  This earned him quite the pasting from Graham, which ultimately comes back to haunt him.  But then when you live the kind of life Graham does, how did he ever really imagine his life would end?

In the woods at the site, the two men argue but Graham is half dead already so Pierce has the upper hand.  Pierce mocks Graham over not really being Rhona’s type and that she is only with him because he reminds her of Pierce.  He then reveals that he has been watching Rhona since that night and it was him who stole Leo’s passport.

Graham being Graham, he does get the upper hand but he opts not to kill Pierce, certainly not in Rhona’s name and punches him out instead.  Well, that turns out to be a mistake!  As he is making is escape, he is run over and plunges over an edge.  Surely he’s dead now?  Piece scrambles down to deal with the body but Graham recovers, sends Pierce flying this time and they go at it again over Rhona until Pierce smashes Graham over the head.  Yep.  It really is all over now.  He half buries him under some leaves (clearly wanting him to be found and Rhona to grieve and feel unsafe) and then heads back to the village where Marlon is at Rhona’s door, wanting to know where Graham is and why he didn’t show up for their meeting.  Pierce listens in as Rhona apologises for hurting him and explains that they have now missed their ferry.

Al finds Graham’s dead body and walks away, presumably to report to Kim that the deed is done and claim his money without actually having to do anything for it.  While Rhona wonders where Graham has got to, Graham lies cold in the woods.  And the sad thing in all of it is that in trying to protect Rhona, Graham has left her more vulnerable than ever.

Emmerdale is on at 7pm Monday to Friday with a second episode at 8pm on Thursdays