Emmerdale’s Graham Foster was reunited with Rhona Goskirk on Tuesday’s ITV soap as flashbacks showed how he survived his supposed ‘murder’.
Emmerdale fans were finally treated to the truth behind Graham Foster’s survival, having been declared dead six years prior. However, his alleged murderer, Pierce Harris, has remained a haunting presence.
During Tuesday’s instalment of the ITV soap (January 20), the ‘Who Killed Ray Walters?’ mystery deepened with more flashbacks from the day the villain met his end. In a surprising development, further flashbacks within these sequences exposed Graham’s actual fate.
The gripping episode began by transporting audiences back to Friday, January 2, whilst human trafficker Ray (Joe Absolom) was still breathing. Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) is shown anxiously awaiting at home, still fretting over her stepdaughter, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), who has gone missing.
The veterinarian is left utterly stunned when her ex-partner, Graham (Andrew Scarborough), secretly enters Smithy Cottage and approaches her unexpectedly, disclosing that he’s alive and eager to assist, reports the Daily Star. Throughout their discussion, flashbacks to 2020 demonstrate how Graham escaped his alleged “murder” by Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather).
Who was Pierce Harris in Emmerdale?
Pierce, a charismatic solicitor, first appeared in January 2016 as Tess Harris’s (Destiny Whitlock) husband, who was conducting an affair with Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) whilst he remained wed to Rhona.
In February 2016, Tess perished in a vehicle collision, with Pierce remaining oblivious to her affair until after her tragic demise, which subsequently drew him into Rhona’s world.
After being deceived by their respective partners, the wronged pair found comfort in each other and began a relationship once Rhona ended things with Paddy. However, their romance was far from idyllic.
Pierce’s behaviour towards Rhona gradually became more domineering and manipulative, culminating in him forcing her into non-consensual sex. Confused and manipulated by Pierce, Rhona agreed to marry her increasingly insecure partner in April 2017.
When she confessed to a meaningless drunken kiss with Paddy shortly before their wedding, an enraged Pierce raped his new wife on their wedding night.
The vile Mr Harris shifted the blame onto Rhona, eroding her self-esteem and making her believe she was overreacting. Courageous Rhona eventually reported the crime and managed to escape the horrific clutches of toxic Pierce, leading to a court trial.
Despite attempting to discredit Rhona in court and convince the jury she had fabricated the rape, Pierce was shocked when he was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2017.
Pierce returned to the village in 2020 and initiated another reign of terror. He held Vanessa (Michele Hardwick) and her son Johnny captive, but Rhona rescued them, resulting in his return to jail.
Following a suspenseful whodunit plot, it was also revealed that the wicked murderer had killed Graham in 2020, who was planning to start anew with Rhona.
How did Pierce meet his end in Emmerdale?
In February 2022, news broke that Pierce had died in prison. Prior to his demise, he reached out to Rhona with a dying wish: to help him locate his estranged son, Marcus.
Rhona acquiesced and managed to track down Marcus, who arrived in the village seeking answers about his father.
However, before they could arrange a prison visit, they were informed of Pierce’s death.
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- Emmerdale Full Episode | Tuesday 27th January
- Coronation Street Today epi (26 Jan 2026): Emotions Run High as Secrets Come to Light
- Emmerdale Today (26 January 2026) Secrets Resurface and Dangerous Truths Come Out
- Next week 26th to 30th January on Emmerdale Kim and Joe are faced with a ghost from the past, Paddy continues to protect Bear and Ruby comes to a horrific realisation.
