Emmerdale fans predict "full recovery" for Sam Dingle

(Image credit: ITV)

Emmerdale fans were shocked by the ending of last night's dramatic anniversary episode which saw soap legend Sam Dingle impaled on a spike!

The gruesome twist came after Sam, his sister Belle Dingle, and their nephew Nate Robinson, raced to get away from stampeding cows.

And it was the climax of an extremely thrilling episode, following on from Sunday's anniversary.

Emmerdale 50th Anniversary generic shot of the village — Last night's episode really ramped up the drama! (Image credit: ITV)

Sunday's episode left us all on tenterhooks after a lightning bolt struck Harriet's crashed quad bike and left both her and her unlikely saviour, Kim Tate, out cold.

And it was a devastated Kim who came round and realised that despite her efforts, Harriet was dead.

Sob!

Kim Tate lying on the ground lifeless — Kim came round but Harriet wasn't so lucky (Image credit: ITV)

Meanwhile, Amelia was in the barn in full-blown labour with her premature baby. With something of a sixth sense, Lydia Dingle found the terrified teen and tried to comfort her while realising that it was too late to get her back to the village - the baby was on its way!

And Sam, Nate and Belle ventured outside to check on the animals, only to be met by a herd of stampeding cows, which had broken out of the barn.

The frightened trio legged it, with Nate and Belle managing to get away, while Sam leapt over some hay bales to safety.

Or so we thought.

Sam Dingle spiked on a tractor in Emmerdale — Can Sam really recover from such an awful accident? (Image credit: ITV)

As we all breathed again, thinking the three amigos had been saved from danger, we saw that when Sam jumped, he'd been impaled on a spike from a piece of farm machinery.

The gruesome scenes left fans reeling and it's not looking good for the sweet-natured Dingle.

When I tell you we screamed when it showed Sam. He best be ok #Emmerdale @emmerdaleOctober 17, 2022

No ! Not Sam please! Am Shocked! I was NOT expecting that! Please pull though Sam! 😱 #emmerdaleOctober 17, 2022

But some viewers weren't panicking because they remembered how just a few episodes ago, Liv Flaherty was at death's door after being attacked by evil Terry.

And though Vinny was warned his wife might not pull through, she was back to normal the very next episode.

Could such a miracle happen for Sam Dingle?

The fans took to social media to share their hopes of a speedy recovery.

Jesus Christ no way is Sam going to live through that? But it’s emmerdale so he will be recovered in a DAY #EmmerdaleOctober 17, 2022

No way can Sam Dingle survive that, its gone straight thru his heart! This being Emmerdale tho, I expect to be running in the Hotton marathon on Thursday #EmmerdaleOctober 17, 2022

Reality Sam would be dead, Soap Drama he makes a full recovery in 5 days #emmerdaleOctober 17, 2022

Can Sam really survive such a horrific incident? We're not sure - it looked pretty bad. But stranger things have happened in soap.

Fortunately we don't have to wait too long to find out! Emmerdale returns to our screens at 7.30pm this evening, and every weeknight, with an hour-long episode on Thursday.

Kerry is a writer, author and editor with a lifelong love of the soaps, a passion for TV drama of all kinds, and an obsessive devotion to Strictly Come Dancing.

She was features editor of All About Soap magazine for more than a decade, covering every bit of excitement from all the UK soaps and the Aussies and still writes about all the juiciest gossip from the Street, the Square and the Dales whenever she can.

Kerry’s also an author of historical fiction, and her two jobs collided when she got the chance to write two novels based on Emmerdale, and the Sugden, Tate and Dingle families, during WW2.