Emmerdale fans were left shocked during the latest trip to the Dales after Billy was subject to a racist attack. The ITV soap was back on screens on Thursday night for its usual hour-long special.
At first, viewers saw lawyer Ethan Anderson drafted in to represent someone who had been dragged into the police station while he was trying to enjoy a date - which already wasn't going well - with new love interest Marcus Harris.
Dashing off to the police station after being given more responsibly at work, Ethan met Jordan who had been arrested on suspicion of assault. There wasn't much time for him to establish what had gone on with his client eager to get his interview over with. Ethan did his best to defend his client through questioning until he saw a picture of the victim.
READ MORE: ITV Emmerdale fans figure out character twist as they fume over Jai and Laurel split
Ethan was speechless as he and Jordan were shown a picture of a bloodied and bruised Billy in the hospital. Fans of the soap were horrified with how things ended after Billy's wife Dawn Taylor encouraged him to go out for drinks in town with his father-in-law Will Taylor.
Later, as Dawn sat down to enjoy a drink with her dad's partner Kim Tate, she received a message that her husband was in hospital and rushed to be with him. Seeing his injuries, Dawn demanded to know what happened and a broken Billy revealed that he had been racially attacked. Meanwhile, Ethan was defending the attacker at the police station.
Despite being horrified as the storyline unfolded, Emmerdale fans were also distracted as they took to Twitter to point out that they had seen the actor playing Jordan, Jack Parr, before.
@Matt528chap tweeted: "Have they seriously just cast a Peaky Blinders actor (Jack Parr) in the role of Billy's racist attacker only for said attack to happen off screen-seriously! #Emmerdale."
"Hey it’s Peaky Blinders guy!! #Emmerdale," @sofaneilas said.
Jack appeared in the BBC One hit, which recently came to an end, playing Dougie Bill. Last year he also played Sergeant Casey in Silent Witness. The actor has also had numerous roles in films and short films including Evil Lies, This World We Live In, Tog, Next of Kin, Redford Estate, and The Admirer.
Jordan had been claiming that a guy, Billy, started on him first and that he only acted in self defence but when the police turned up he was only arrested as the other guy was on the floor injured. Ethan was forced to reveal that he knew Billy but said there was no conflict of interest.
Later, viewers saw Ethan suggesting that Jordan may want to seek alternative representation but Jordan was adamant he wanted Ethan to represent him. Harriet Finch also bumped into Ethan at the station and tried to encourage him from withdrawing from the case as it could negatively impact his personal relationships.
And fans were quick to point out Jordan's alterior motive. @bbettiekaren said: "[He] only wants Ethan to represent him so it makes him look as though he’s not racist. I hope Ethan sees sense. He cannot represent that monster. #Emmerdale
@spartacus2906 tweeted: "It’s obvious why this guy wants Ethan as his solicitor - just so he can say ‘look at me, I’ve got a black lawyer, how can I be racist #Emmerdale."
