The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.
John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) isn’t coping in Emmerdale and tonight, he tried to get some help.
The complex character is struggling as a result of trying to keep a number of secrets hidden. The most prominent one on his mind at the moment is Nate Robinson’s (Jurell Carter) murder.
John is attempting to support the likes of Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) as the investigation continues, all while trying to ensure the police don’t grow suspicious of him.
On top of this, John is also hiding the fact he has orchestrated a variety of dangerous situations involving other residents in the village, just so he could swoop in and save them.
In tonight’s episode, it became apparent that John hadn’t slept very well again. His yawning was picked up on by Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker), who insisted John should have a chat with her over lunch.
John told Manpreet that he’s terribly stressed at the moment, and is also receiving texts from Tracy all the time. Tracy noted a few days ago that John is the only person who seems to be supporting her at the moment, but she doesn’t know her constant messaging is making his guilt increase.
Manpreet told John that Tracy should consider speaking to someone, to take the pressure off him a little. She handed him a leaflet for a company called Guardians, which is essentially the Emmerdale equivalent of Samaritans.
At the flat though, John rang the number and a volunteer picked up. He started talking about feeling overwhelmed, and said that he keeps having one particular nightmare.
The volunteer encouraged John to open up further, and he ended up revealing that his nightmare sees him trapped in a massive house with loads of rooms. Whenever he tries to leave, he enters a room with a puzzle that he needs to solve.
The character started to struggle more as the call went on, and he ended up cutting it off.
Heading through to the kitchen, John made a discovery about Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), and it’s most certainly going to increase his stress levels in the coming days.
