ITV Emmerdale bombshell return ‘sealed’ – and it’s bad news for John Sugden

Emmerdale fans are convinced they’ve rumbled a shock return on the ITV soap.

Actor Oliver Farnworth, 42, made his debut on the hit ITV soap on Wednesday night, where his character John was revealed as Aaron Dingle’s new love interest. The duo had planned to go on a date but Aaron bumped into John on the side of the road, where his car needed fixing.

Once the damage on the vehicle was repaired by Aaron himself, the duo shared a kiss, which quickly escalated into a romp on the side of the road but John then quickly left the scene – complete with Aaron’s belongings and Eric Pollard’s car keys.

In scenes on Thursday night, after taking Eric to an old friend’s funeral, Victoria Sugden accidentally put her foot in it with the bereaved son at his mum’s funeral but she was left further stunned to learn his name was John Sugden. Later, Eric awkwardly confirmed that John could actually be her half brother and her late father Jack Sugden’s son.

Since then, Victoria has been desperate to get to know her long-lost sibling while Aaron has been left seething to see John in the village, especially after learning he is related to his ex-husband Robert Sugden. On Friday night, Aaron confronted John asking what his game is to which he warned him to back off, threatening Aaron and Mackenzie Boyd to get his vehicle fixed immediately.

Meanwhile, John managed to isolate himself from Victoria and niece Sarah Sugden, who discovered she had a secret uncle on Friday, as he showed little interest in wanting to get to know his family and made plans to leave the village.

Taking to Twitter, now X, viewers are convinced that with John’s arrival, this should mean a return for Robert after five years. One person said: “If this is not leading to a Robert return, then #Emmerdale is making a huge mistake!!”, a different account put: “Loving John’s arrival but would also love Robert coming back, too… #emmerdale” while another added: “Should I stick my neck out and say Robert will be back by Christmas? #Emmerdale.”

Viewers will recall that Robert left the show back in 2019 after being sent to prison over the death of Lee Posner. Robert accidentally caused Lee’s death after he attacked him, following Lee horrifically raping his sister Victoria. Robert faced up to his crime and cut all ties with the village and his loved ones as he was sentenced.

But viewers have long hoped he may return, especially after hints that Robert may not have caused his death. Lee obtained injuries to his head when he was punched, but it emerged Lee had also been hit by his brother Luke and that might have led to his death. And with Robert mentioned recently, fans are hoping he could be returning with Aaron actor Danny Miller confessing he too wants Ryan Hawley back on the show as Robert.