Lewis Barton never thought his life would change because of a “chance” encounter, but Emmerdale is always fond of playing unexpected twists.

After a severe panic attack, Lewis thought he had hit rock bottom, when Kev Townsend reappeared in the Dales village for a seemingly innocuous reason: to find his old jacket.

But no one in Emmerdale believes in chance encounters anymore, and what happens next proves that Kev is not here to say hello politely.

Kev approaches Lewis by asking questions at Lewis’s weakest moment.

After just a few words of conversation, Kev knows that Lewis lacks a sense of security and is easily swayed. Kev is friendly to the point of being… a little too friendly. He begins to ask deep questions about Lewis’s life – who is close, who is distant, who has problems with him. Lewis naively thought Kev just wanted to be friends, and that was the opening that Kev let in.

Soon after, Kev started inviting Lewis out for drinks, offering “older brother” advice, and even making a few insinuating comments about Aaron – as if testing Lewis’s reaction. Kev’s way of building trust made Lewis unconsciously open up. In just one evening, Lewis’ loneliness made him lean on Kev, and that was when Kev began to “adjust” Lewis’s view of the world.