Friday’s (July 5) episode of Emmerdale saw Josh Cope slip up as suspicion grows over his involvement in Matty Barton’s ongoing storyline.

The newcomer proved to be a bad influence on friend Samson Dingle following his arrival in the village in May.

The pair later teamed up to threaten Matty during an attempted robbery at The Hide, with the situation quickly spiralling out of control.

Josh ended up pushing Samson, causing him to be accidentally stabbed by the knife that Matty was holding.

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Josh and Samson have since lied that Matty deliberately caused the injury in a vicious attack, with Matty now on remand in prison.

Tonight’s episode began with Josh confessing that he likes Sarah, before asking her to go out for a drink with him.

As the pair sat down for a beer at The Woolpack, Sarah called Josh brave for showing his face in the pub after recent events.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said. “Samson still works here, doesn’t he? So that shows the family know who’s telling the truth about what really happened, don’t it?”

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Josh then explained that he and Samson are planning to move forward the date of their planned trip to Europe.

Sarah was surprised by Josh’s confession and questioned the timing of his plans as the start of Matty’s trial approaches.

“Not going to let something like that stop me making plans, am I?” admitted Josh, to which Sarah replied: “You can’t just clear off abroad till god knows when, when you’ve said you’ll be a witness.”

“I’m a free man, I can do what I like, Sarah,” Josh added, before revealing he wanted to spend time with her before he left for Europe.

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A frustrated Sarah then explained to Josh that he wasn’t showing any care for Matty. The pair’s conversation quickly became heated, with Mack soon intervening to separate them.

Later, Mack shared his disapproval over Sarah spending time with the troublesome newcomer. He also speculated to Charity that Josh and Samson are trying to leave the village because they have something to hide.

“Why are him and Samson moving their trip forward? It’s because of the trial,” he said. “They’re obviously guilty and trying to swerve it.”