Emmerdale fans were left confused as David Metcalfe decided to quit the village following a nasty accident.
During last night's episode, David (Matthew Wolfenden) opted to head out of the Yorkshire village for the time being after receiving a phone call to say his ex Alicia Gallagher was poorly in Portugal and needed some support.
David has been at the centre of a storyline with his partner Victoria Sugden ( Isabel Hodgins ) as they work together to save his ailing shop. Victoria decided to sell some of her own assets to put more money in the business but fans were left confused by his decision to do so, given the fact he had no money to pay off his own debts.
During the episode, David went to visit Leyla Cavanagh ( Roxy Shahidi ) to tell her that her sister Alicia Gallagher (Natalie Anderson) had suffered a nasty accident in Portugal whilst she was trying to take a selfie and had fallen ill.
He rushed out to be with her, leaving behind his wife-to-be Victoria to look after his shop, which she had recently paid off the debts for and helped get him out of the red as he struggled with cash flow.
Confused fans took to Twitter to wonder why David was leaving if his business was struggling - and how he could afford to do so.
"David was skint the other week, now he’s booking flights lol," one fan wrote, as another added: "He was skint 5 minutes ago."
A third person shared: "How can David afford to do to Portugal?" with a fourth penning: "The other week David was struggling for money now he’s setting off to Portugal to look after an ex."
"Could the writers not come up with something at least a wee bit believable for David's disappearance? He is up to his eyes in debt, yet can jet off to Portugal at the drop of a hat, supposedly to look after an ex?" a fifth added.
David's shop has been in the red since the Covid pandemic halted a lot of the business, both there and at the nearby local pub The Woolpack. David and Victoria also took some time away from the village, leaving his son Jacob in charge of the shop for a large stretch, as the pair felt they had to get away following Meena Jutla's attempt to kill them.
