EMMERDALE has revealed Rishi Sharma’s cause of death - and it wasn’t a heart attack.
The businessman - who was played by actor Bhasker Patel in the ITV soap - was found dead at the foot of his stairs last month.
His son Jai found him collapsed with no obvious signs of what caused his tragic death.
But now the ITV soap has revealed exactly how Rishi died - or at least what the coroner has ruled.
Jai took a call in tongiht’s episode and after hearing the news told wife Laurel: “Dad’s body has been released.
“The coroner has confirmed the cause of death as an accidental fall. And now I can concentrate on giving him the best send off that I can.
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“There’s so much to arrange. The funeral’s going to be next Wednesday now.”
However the circumstances of Rishi’s death - falling down the stairs - has left soap fans wondering if there’s more to it.
One wrote: "Accidental fall not a mark on him."
A second said: "Still can’t believe they’ve killed Rishi off…"
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Another added: "So Rishi had a fall and didn't have a heart attack like I initially thought."
Actor Bhasker became emotional after opening up about being axed by soap bosses.
Appearing on ITV's Lorraine following his dramatic exit, the dad-of-three revealed Emmerdale bosses forced his hand in leaving.
Speaking to stand-in host Christine Lampard, he explained: "When the producer rang me and said, 'I need to talk to you and we're killing you off because we want a big story and it's going to be a big surprise.'
"Because my 12 years at ITV, they let me do a lot of other work, so I felt a part of ITV, a part of Rishi, but at the same time... I was working in London as well.
"So when the producer said, 'We're going to kill you off', I was like, 'Okay, that part of my life with this guy is over and I'm going to move on'.''
As Christine, 44, read out tributes to his character from devastated fans, Bhasker started to get emotional.
He wiped away tears as he heard the outpouring of love from viewers for him.