Emmerdale fans were thrown during the latest instalment of the ITV soap, as Nate Robinson made a return after months of absence from screen of the Dales drama.
Nate (Jurell Carter) has been missing from soap screens ever since Tracy Metcalfe’s (Amy Walsh) exit from Emmerdale, while the actress is on maternity leave after welcoming her first child with EastEnders star Toby-Alexander Smith in December.
Tracy is spending time away from the village working in Nottingham after she was offered an exciting job.
While she was initially unsure if she should take it, concerned about her relationship with Nate and taking young Frankie away from her dad, Nate persuaded her to go and reset after a difficult year.
It's not clear where Nate has been all this time, as he hasn't been on screen since then, but it doesn't appear he was away from the village.
Nate finally returned to Emmerdale screens on Thursday evening's hour-long episode amid the heartbreak, leaving fans questioning where the character has been since he last appeared in January.
Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “more to the point why has Nate not been seen since she left in January (before tonight).”
Another asked: “Where the hell has Nate been,” as a third echoed: “Where has Nate been.”
Several viewers celebrated the return of the character, with one fan writing: “Nate’s back. Things can only get better,” after another posted: “More happiness with Nate “party animal””.
This comes after Emmerdale has teased new struggles ahead for Cain Dingle's son as he gets upset over recent goings on.
Nate is left down in the dumps in upcoming scenes as he struggles with being without his little girl Frankie, two months on from her moving away.
Spoilers reveal that he soon decides to get drunk, as he's desperate to stop the pain he's feeling over not seeing Frankie.
It all kicks off when Nate is left gutted as he watches old videos of his child, leaving him emotional.
He realises he is missing so much time with her and not seeing her milestone moments, leaving him devastated.
As the week goes on Nate remains upset, and tries to rope Ryan Stocks into a drinking session at the pub.
While it's not known if Ryan will be a shoulder to lean on for the character, it's revealed that Nate is trying to distract himself from missing Frankie by getting drunk.
Viewers will have to tune in next week to see how this fairs out, but could there be more struggles ahead for the dad?
