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Emmerdale reveals who caused Jimmy King to crash in early ITVX release – and it's not Kim Tate

Emmerdale reveals who caused Jimmy King to crash in early ITVX release – and it's not Kim Tate

Warning: Contains spoilers for Thursday's episode of Emmerdale, which airs at 8pm on ITV1 or can be streamed now on ITVX.

A bloodied and unconscious Jimmy King slumped behind the wheel amid a crash in Emmerdale

ITV

Laura Denby

Published: Thursday, 3 September 2026 at 7:30 am

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The truth behind Jimmy King's (Nick Miles) fatal car crash has been revealed in Thursday's (3 September 2026) Emmerdale – and you won't have seen it coming.

We're still in shock from Sadie King's (Patsy Kensit) mind-blowing bombshell about ex-husband Jimmy, so we certainly weren't expecting another curveball quite so soon.

Having literally landed right on top of the crash site, Sadie stepped out in full mourning attire to place a red rose on the ground, declaring: "Goodnight, my love."

Jimmy's widow Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) was baffled, while Sadie's old enemy Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) ordered her to disappear.

Of course, Sadie wasn't going to listen, and entered the Woolpack – where there was shock all round – as Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) made a scathing comment about Sadie's role in the death of his daughter Dawn Woods (Julia Mallam).

Sadie steps away from a red plane, wearing a long black coat and holding a red rose in Emmerdale

Patsy Kensit as Sadie King. ITV

But the horror was only just beginning for Nicola, who was floored when Sadie claimed she and Jimmy had been together for the last three years, and that she'd been told Nicola had left him!

Nicola branded Sadie a liar and slapped her, and as the drama continued, Sadie visited Nicola at home and tried to prove herself with what she knew about Jimmy's children, leaving Nicola heartbroken.

She asked Sadie to leave, and Kev Barton (Chris Coghill) popped in with a café issue – only for a drunk Nicola to kiss him as she came to terms with Jimmy's betrayal. Kev behaved like a gentleman when Nicola pulled away in shame.

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A flashback then showed Jimmy speaking on the phone to Sadie while driving in the lead-up to the crash, discussing cash he had got for her and seemingly confirming that he was indeed having an affair with her. Surely not our Jimmy!

Meanwhile, Kim Tate (Claire King) had been taken in for police questioning by her secret daughter DS Thea Ramsden (Chelsea Edge), who accused her of running Jimmy off the road.

Kim denied it outright, reminding Thea that the accident had also killed her stepdaughter Dawn Fletcher (Olivia Bromley).

Thea was forced to release Kim and later issued an apology, under instruction from a higher power.

And when Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) went to see Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson), it all began to unravel – be warned, a major spoiler lies ahead!

Vinny talking to Gabby in Emmerdale

Vinny was confronted by Gabby. ITV

Gabby's guilt was due to her being on a video call with Vinny at the time of the crash, in which she lamented her bad luck with men.

Vinny was driving at the time, and after he suddenly swerved and cried out, he told Gabby there must have been a deer in the road.

Gabby asked Vinny if he caused the crash, and he said no. But a second flashback confirmed that he was lying – having taken his eyes off the road, Vinny had caused Jimmy to swerve and ultimately led to his death.

In the village, Vinny almost came clean to Nicola, but stayed quiet at the last second. Will Vinny confess?

Read more:

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.

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Authors

Laura Denby in front a white background, she is smiling and looking at the camera

Laura DenbyFreelance Writer

Laura Denby is a Freelance Soaps writer covering all the latest news in the Dales, Cobbles and East End for Radio Times. She's a soaps nerd with a love for comedy drama, and has also written for Digital Spy, Metro UK and Yahoo UK.

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