Is Ethan Anderson dead on Emmerdale and is actor Emile John leaving the ITV soap?

Ethan Anderson has been at the centre of a huge storyline on Emmerdale.

The character – played by Emile John – has been part of a big recent storyline when he abandoned his friend Nicky after crashing the car. Nicky had wanted to rush to be with Suni after he came face to face with his homophobic attackers but he had been drinking so Ethan wouldn’t let him drive and insisted he would drive instead.

When he saw a police car ahead, he tried to turn away, worried he would be over the limit and it would have an effect on his upcoming new job. As a result, he crashed the car and moved Nicky to the driver’s seat before running away.

After finding out his son was responsible, Charles Anderson reported his son to the police – and Ethan knew his time was up. Tonight, he prepared for his court hearing as he knew he was potentially facing jail.

However, he has been worried about Dawn after noticing an exchange between Rose Jackson and Ruby Fox-Miligan. He believed Dawn was at risk of being hurt by her mum’s behaviour and asked his dad whether he should say anything, but did not disclose what about. After a discussion, he decided he needed to tell Dawn and left her a voicemail.

As he prepared to go to court, having now told his friend he needed to talk to her, his dad Charles disappeared into the other room to sort something out. He was calling out to his son, but when he went back into the room to see why Ethan wasn’t responding to him, he found his son collapsed on the floor – but will he be ok?

Panic soon set in for the family, with Charles concerned about his son’s health and if he’ll be ok. Will Ethan make it – or is this a shocking and brutal end for the character, who first appeared around three years ago?

Unfortunately, tonight, it was confirmed that Ethan had died following his collapse, as a devastated Charles and Manpreet announced the sad news to Claudette, who broke down in tears on learning her grandson had died.