The hunt is on in Emmerdale TONIGHT when a child VANISHES into thin air

There is panic in Emmerdale when Jai discovers Archie is missing from the village tonight...

Tonight's Emmerdale will see Jai Sharma thrown into turmoil when he discovers his son Archie Breckle has gone missing.

Emmerdale fans saw Arthur Thomas up his bullying campaign against Archie last night (Tuesday 10th December) when he tormented him about the village pantomime.

Arthur and Angelica make fun of Archie in Emmerdale — Arthur upped his bullying against Archie once again last night (Picture: ITV)

But this time other children from the village joined in with the bullying, including Jimmy and Nicola King's daughter, Angelica.

When Angelica joined in with Arthur's hate campaign, Archie saw red and lashed out at Angelica, hitting her across the face.

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But unfortunately for Archie, Jimmy saw everything and grabbed him away from his daughter.

But while Jimmy's actions made Jai more convinced than ever that the bruises on Archie's arms were caused by him, Arthur was seen beaming, pleased that his plan to frame Jimmy for his bullying ways was working.

Archie slaps Angelica in Emmerdale — Archie lashed out at Angelica, leaving Jimmy to step in and grab him away (Picture: ITV)

Later on Jai tried to get to the bottom of what happened, but with Arthur around, Archie couldn't tell his dad the truth about the bullying, leaving Jai more in the dark than ever.

But later when their parents weren't listening, Arthur told Archie that everyone would be better if he ran away to the woods, and at the end of the episode fans saw little Archie disappear into the darkness after sneaking out of the house.

Jimmy King [NICK MILES] yanks Archie away, an angry Jai Sharma [CHRIS BISSON] tells Jimmy it’s nowhere near over between them in Emmerdale — Jai was fuming with Jimmy, but little does he know Arthur is the one he should be angry with (Picture: ITV)

But tonight's Emmerdale (7pm, see our TV guide for full listings) will see Jai horrified when he wakes the next morning to find Archie's bed hasn't been slept in.

With Archie vanishing into thin air, the village residents gather together to find him - but has he gone to the woods like Arthur suggested?

Poor Jimmy is about to find the finger of blame pointed at him as the search for Archie continues. But will Arthur come clean about what he said to Archie, or will he leave the young boy in danger to save his own skin?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia.

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off.

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz!

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.