Ross Barton (Michael Parr) made his presence felt in Emmerdale upon his return, getting on the nerves of Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) as he declared that he’s very much here to stay.
The returnee staged quite a comeback on Monday (October 28), as it was revealed that he was none other than Billy Fletcher’s (Jay Kontzle) mystery opponent in the bareknuckle fight.
Tuesday’s (October 29) offering of the ITV soap dealt with the aftermath as the fight got underway. Ross, who had something of a reputation for taking part in such fights, dominated as Mack and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) watched on, fearing for Billy.
Mack, however, was soon distracted by the sight of Moses, who was sitting on a chair nearby, cheering on his father from the sidelines.
Horrified at the prospect of a child being witness to such violence, he intervened, swooping Moses up in his arms and making a beeline for the exit.
Ross became distracted by such a thing, losing the upper hand, which provided Billy with ample opportunity to deliver a knockout blow, with Ross falling to the floor, losing consciousness – and the match – as a result.
Billy was on cloud nine to have picked up the victory, though Jade (Twinnie-Lee Moore) wasn’t too happy about such a thing, knowing that Ross’ unexpected defeat will put her out of pocket.
Mack, meanwhile, notified Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) of Ross’ recklessness in allowing Moses to attend the fight. Charity was reeling and she soon had a chance to say her piece as Ross arrived at Jacob’s Fold.
Instead of dealing with the issue at hand, however, Ross proceeded to antagonise Mack, squaring up to him.
A macho showdown ensued, much to Charity’s dismay, as Ross wound Mack up over Rueben, claiming that he’s simply ‘playing dad’ where Moses is concerned.
Charity backed Mack up, asking what kind of dad takes their son to watch him fight. The situation escalated, with Ross punching Mack in the stomach and holding him over the sofa so that he couldn’t get back up. Charity reeled, ordering her ex out of her house at once.
After regaining his breath, Mack and Charity discussed Ross’ return, with the former mainstay’s re-appearance very much getting between the couple.
A comment from Charity about Moses being her son left Mack hurt and thus he stormed over to the Woolpack, where he and Ross squared off once more, with Mary Goskirk (Louise Jameson) intervening, calling the pair out over their display of toxic masculinity.
A third showdown then took place between the two men, this time outside Jacob’s Fold, with Ross reiterating exactly what he thinks of Mack, using hurtful and toxic language, telling him that he’s not a ‘real man’.
Mack kept his cool stating that no-one wants Ross to stay. Ross, however, made it quite clear that he’s not going anywhere, taking great delight in telling Mack that he’s going to ‘throw a grenade’ into his perfect, little life.
Oh dear.
It seems a new rivalry has very much been ignited. The question is: who will come out on top?
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX.
