John Sugden Emmerdale recap: Who killed Nate, what happened to Aidan and where is Anthony?

Emmerdale’s John Sugden faces being caught after he killed Nate Robinson(Image: ITV)

Who is John Sugden?

John, played by actor Oliver Farnworth, debuted on the soap back in September as the secret son of late character Jack Sugden. He’d known about his family, who had no idea he existed.

His sister Victoria Sugden had a chance meeting with him at the funeral of his mother, with Victoria assisting Eric Pollard. John was initially reluctant to get to know her and move to the village but eventually he did.

John is the half-brother of Robert and Victoria, and his adoptive brother is Andy Sugden. His niece, not biological, is Sarah Sugden, while he has a nephew named Harry who is Victoria’s son.

John is now engaged to his brother Robert’s ex-husband Aaron Dingle after a whirlwind romance. His wedding takes place this week, just as his secrets come under threat.

Who killed Nate in Emmerdale and why?

The truth about Nate Robinson, who he killed, finally comes to light(Image: ITV)

Nate Robinson was thought to have left for Shetland back in September, with actor Jurell Carter leaving the role. But in a major twist in February we learned he never left the village and was murdered, with his body in the bottom of the lake.

During a limo crash on this very lake which had iced over, Amy Wyatt fell under the ice and saw the body. Sadly she died before she could tell anyone what she saw, with her husband Matty Barton not able to make out her words.

We didn’t know for weeks who had killed Nate and why, while John was a suspect with viewers. Then in April we finally learned all about John’s controlling behaviour, and his hero complex.

During an episode that showed him discussing being unable to save someone, we also saw the former army medic deliberately make Jacob Gallagher ill before saving him to be the hero. It’s then that it was confirmed John had accidentally killed Nate back in September before disposing of his body and covering up the crime.

John had offered to help injured Nate after his showdown with his father Cain Dingle, which led to Cain beating him up really badly. Cain had wrongly accused Nate of sleeping with his wife Moira, again, and Nate was disowned.

Nate vowed to leave the village for good, but John injected him with something to “help him”. It seems Nate overdosed or was allergic to whatever it was, as just as John went to “save him” with something else Nate died and could not be saved.

John then disposed of his body, made it seem like he left for Shetland and he has remained undetected ever since. Poor Nate has been accused of disowning his family, with John orchestrating it this way.

Who is Aidan, and what did John do to him?

Aidan Moore was first introduced to the show when John joined last year, with John possessing Aidan’s army dog tags. Victoria asked him about it and John was furious, before eventually telling her and Aaron that he was someone he was close with in the army who died on patrol.

He claimed he could not save him, but just weeks ago the bombshell came that Aidan was still alive. Aidan has been in a coma in a hospital in Leeds ever since the accident a few years earlier.

On top of that John was lying about their link, with it revealed they were a couple and were even engaged. The true events of what left Aidan in a coma have not been revealed, but it’s becoming pretty obvious John was to blame.

We’ve seen John slamming the character, both when he was in a coma and after he woke up this month, calling him out for not treating him right. We’ve seen John suggest they were an item and that Aidan didn’t put him first, with it also hinted they were alone and John brought him back to base after the incident.

We don’t know the specifics only that Aidan was injured, and when Aidan woke up recently it seemed he could reveal a sinister truth. When he’s been alone with John, Aidan has seemed panicked with it evident he knows who he is – and remembers whatever happened.

It would be safe to presume that John caused Aidan’s injuries intending on killing him, with him then left in a coma only to wake up all these years on. Whether he drugged him or caused him an injury is yet to be declared with Aidan not able to speak.

Is Robert Sugden returning? Do John and Aaron get married?

There’s been rumours that Robert Sugden will return(Image: Shared Content Unit)

The outcome of the big wedding week has not been announced. There’s been rumours that Robert Sugden will return at some point in the future, with the return unfortunately being leaked by a publication.

The soap still has not confirmed if Robert or actor Ryan Hawley really will be back, with no details known. But a reaction from a cast member after the report certainly hinted it was happening.

Then there’s Danny Miller’s chat on Loose Women on Tuesday, amid his character Aaron’s big wedding to John. Danny was asked by the panel about Robert’s return with him squirming over it, while also turning the chat back to the wedding.

As for the future of Aaron and John, fans will have to tune in this week to find out if they get married. With nerves, possible secrets coming out and John planning to flee, it’s not known if the pair even make it to the vows.

Is John leaving and does he get caught out?

It’s not known whether John Sugden is leaving the soap anytime soon while surely at some point he will face a comeuppance. Villains and killers on soaps often have a short shelf life, and the soap has heavily teased the walls are closing in on him.

With Nate’s murder revealed and Aidan possibly exposing his past, it could well mean John is exposed for his crimes. If this happens he will no doubt have to leave the show. That said, it’s not known if an exit could happen soon.

What else has John done? Where is Anthony?

John covered up the murder of Anthony Fox (Image: ITV)

Another big mystery linked to John is the whereabouts of Anthony Fox’s body. Anthony was murdered by his daughter earlier this year in a whodunnit storyline that wrapped up very quickly.

Ruby killed him as she confronted him over the sexual abuse she faced as a teenager. It also came out that he’d raped her when she was 16, and she fell pregnant with her daughter Steph.

After Ruby killed him, her husband Caleb Miligan went to dispose of the body only to be beaten to it by John. John had assumed Aaron had killed Anthony, after Aaron beat him up and returned to find him dead.

Soon the truth was revealed, and Chas and Cain Dingle, and eventually Steph, were let in on abuser Anthony’s demise. What only John knows though is the location of Anthony’s corpse.

He’s already lied about this once leading to characters and viewers questioning if Anthony is really even dead, and why John would hide the location. When Nate’s body is found in the lake next week the family initially believe it’s Anthony.

So where actually is Anthony buried, and is he even dead? John’s other crimes include drugging Chas, attacking Liam Cavanagh, framing Ella Forster for harassment, and framing Mackenzie Boyd for the slurry leak that nearly killed Harry when it contaminated the water supply.