Emmerdale viewers learned what Al Chapman had been hiding in the latest episode of the ITV soap, as he landed former stepson Billy Fletcher in trouble.
The character was brutally attacked by a mystery culprit last week, with Billy instantly blamed after their earlier showdown.
Billy was forced to claim innocence, as Al told Dawn Taylor, Jai Sharma and Kim Tate that he was his attacker.
Jai threatened to call the police, with Al determined this would not happen - knowing full well he had nothing to do with the assault.
But Billy isn't the only one Al could have placed in harm's way due to his secret, with it confirmed the character is battling debt.
On Monday, Dawn followed him to a meeting with two mystery men who were revealed to be working for a loan shark.
They were there to collect money from Al that he owed, with him in severe debt to someone.
He was told if he didn't pay up, they were going to kill him.
It then became clear why Al was so desperate to get his son Ellis, Billy's brother, to invest in his buisness.
He wanted Ellis to give him the money so he could pay off the debt, not worrying about the consequences for his son.
Viewers will have to wait and see what Dawn will do with this information, especially after almost landing Billy in trouble.
Ellis will be back in the village soon, with his return said to come about after Billy and Al clash yet again.
There will be a new actor playing the role of Ellis when he returns, while it's not yet known if he'll forgive his dad.
Actor Aaron Anthony will now be playing the role, after original actor Asan N'Jie was sacked by the ITV soap in September.
He was involved in an incident with Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas at the TV Choice Awards 2019, where he threatened violence towards the fellow soap star - leading to the soap axing him from the role.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
