Is Debbie Dingle dead in Emmerdale, does she leave the soap and why did Ross Barton shoot her?

EMMERDALE has aired some truly shocking scenes as Debbie Dingle has been left fighting for her life.

Ross Barton had been holding Joe Tate up at gunpoint before accidentally shooting her. Here is what we know.

Who gets shot on Emmerdale?

On May 24, 2018, Debbie Dingle, played by Charley Webb, was shot in some of the most dramatic scenes the soap has ever witnessed.

Fans were left fearing for the mechanic's life after she walked in on Ross Barton taking Joe Tate and Graham Foster hostage.

As Joe desperately fought to get the gun from Ross, it went off in the struggle and the two men looked on in horror at what had happened.

The tense scenes come after the acid attack storyline comes to a head.

Ross heads to House Farm armed with a gun and ties up Joe's right hand man, Graham Foster.

Ross, who is permanently scarred from the acid attack, confronts Joe after searching for answers over the attack and finding out that Joe bribed Simon McManus into keeping quiet.

It's not known yet if Debbie will live or die.

Why does Ross Barton get a gun?

Michael Parr, who plays Ross, has explained how the character got his hands on a gun.

"Ross gets his hands on a gun from an old friend, as he's been told that Joe was the mastermind behind the acid attack," he said.

"Even though he knows Simon carried out the attack, he now knows that Joe paid Simon to lie in court."

He added: "Ross gets an old gun – a gun with a barrel and six holes in it.

"Ross puts one bullet in it and goes to see Joe.

"Ross spins it, points the gun at Joe and keeps pulling the trigger.

"It's not going off with the bullet, but it's obviously going to go off at some point.

"So there's a lot of pressure on Joe to reveal the truth, but he never folds."