Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill), a terrifying criminal who’s just been behind bars for 20 years for armed robbery, decided to sing his heart out at a party in tonight’s episode of Emmerdale, believing he could emotionally move Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) into getting back with him.

Kev was dumped by Robert last Friday. He told his husband that he believed he deserved better, but hoped that they could continue being friends. In reality, Robert ended the marriage because he could no longer carry things on with Kev while pursuing a relationship with Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) at the same time.

Yesterday, Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) found Kev in the café. He was told by Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) that Kev had been sat in the same place for two hours and barely moved. Liam didn’t particularly want to talk to Kev, but knows the man is lonely and dealing with complex emotions. From a local GP point of view, he felt compelled to try and help.

Kev still believes that if he continues to spin the narrative that he’s got a terminal illness, Robert will stay by his side.

His hope was fuelled when Robert confirmed that he’d be with him when the end comes. This ‘end’ isn’t going to happen anytime soon though, which is perhaps why Kev tried a different tactic to try and get Robert back in tonight’s episode.

Robert and Aaron looking alarmed in Emmerdale

So awks, honestly (Picture: ITV)
Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah) spent the day getting a housewarming party ready at Dale View, where best friend Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) lives with Lewis and Ross Barton (Michael Parr). Kammy, always full of light and positivity, made Kev feel welcome by saying that he could come along as well.

When Kev arrived though, he was already quite drunk. Standing in the living room were a lot of familiar faces including Robert and Aaron, which meant the show Kev put on was ideal gossip material for everyone.

Kev sang a heartfelt and emotional song right at Robert, who struggled to keep a straight face. Put simply, the broken hearted man made an absolute fool of himself and when Kev realised the display hadn’t worked in his favour, he was mortified.

A few hours later, Kev returned to Dale View as he had forgotten his coat. He witnessed Lewis anxiously cleaning the place with his headphones on, and apologised immediately for well…letting himself in.

Kev could see that Lewis was struggling and wanted to know if he was alright. Lewis is autistic, and will make it clear later in the week that the chaos of the party was a trigger for him, but he didn’t tell Kev this.

The characters found common ground by discussing the fact they both have coping mechanisms for when the outside world becomes a bit too much. Lewis listens to music, while Kev pings a rubber band on his wrist to help him feel more present. He took the band off his arm and gave it to Lewis, wondering if it might aid him as well.

Lewis was grateful, and told Kev not to give up on getting back with Robert.

Kev headed off, appreciative of the comments.

Unbeknownst to them both, Kev and Lewis are actually father and son. We learnt this a couple of days ago, when Kev detailed his one night stand and Emma Barton putting their baby up for adoption, which matched the same story Lewis told Ross when they first met.