ITV Emmerdale fans 'work out' John Sugden's identity as villager 'fakes' death in kidnap twist

Emmerdale enthusiasts are rife with speculation after a shocking turn of events - has Nate Robinson, played by Jurell Carter, silently slipped away from the village?

In the hour-long instalment, characters Ruby Milligan (Beth Cordingly) and Moira Barton (Natalie J Robb) were shown to have escaped the fire. Heroes Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) and John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) also got out untouched following their daring rescue attempt.

Even Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) and Will Taylor (Dean Andrews) managed to steer clear of peril. Yet new character John's sudden appearance has raised eyebrows after it was revealed he once was an army medic, the Express reveals.

Tracy Metcalfe's (Amy Walsh) interaction with John added to the growing uncertainties. She remarked on the smoky smell around him, to which he chillingly revealed: "There was a fire at the farm."

Alarm bells rang louder for Tracy as she probed about how severe the fire was, eliciting an ominous reply from John: "Pretty much as bad as it gets."

"Moira, Ruby, and Will were taken to hospital," John conceded, but when pushed on their prognosis, admitted grimly: "I don't know. They weren't in a good way, it didn't look good."

The conversation then shifted to the matter of Nate's location, with John disclosing that he had left the village, stating: "He wasn't there, he left before it happened, he mentioned Shetland."

In response to Tracy's surprise over not seeing Nate before his departure, she remarked: "Yeah, I knew he was going there, I just thought I might have seen him before he took off."

Towards the end of the dialogue, John offered an apology, "I am sorry," which led Tracy to acknowledge, "It's not your fault, is it."

Meanwhile, Emmerdale fans are busy