Is Sam Dingle dead in Emmerdale? James Hooton on gruesome twist

Sam had been worried about whether the cows would be kept secure given the fact the storm was making light work of trees, let alone fencing.

His ominous prediction proved to be correct, as the gate to the cows' enclosure broke, freeing the cattle and sending them on a stampede down the lane.

Sam and farmhand Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) were sent scrambling as they were chased by frightened cows.

Nate stumbled and it looked like he was a goner as Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) watched on in horror.

Sam, meanwhile, fled over some hay bales, falling to what viewers thought was the ground below him and away from the oncoming cows.

Belle ran to Nate who managed to dodge the numerous hooves and was fine, but the same couldn't be said about Sam...

As the camera panned over the stacked bales, Sam was seen impaled on the tractor's fork, completely unconscious, with a metal stake through his chest.

Will Sam live? James Hooton remained cryptic at a press event attended by RadioTimes.com.

Speaking about the gruesome cliffhanger, James said: "It was interesting and obviously a bit of a break from the norm! You never know what the show is going to throw at you.

"I was told this was happening and I didn't know what the outcome's gonna be with a story such as this. You don't know whether Sam lives or dies..."

Thankfully, Hooton didn't suffer too much for his cause, with the actor confirming the spike he was impaled on was just foam.

"It was really interesting," he said of the filming process. "Costume went all out to try and find the best way of dealing with this special scenario. [The spike] looks ultra realistic when you see it on screen, but it's just made of foam basically.

"We spent pretty much a whole day on one scene, which is unheard of in soap territory to prepare and shoot just one single scene."

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.

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