UPDATE: |Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth details John Sugden ‘fallout’ following major Nate death reveal News

The ITV soap showed John attempting to save Nate Robinson’s life

Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth has opened up about the “fallout” after John Sugden’s true colours have been exposed.

Oliver Farnworth made his Dales debut in 2024 as John Sugden. Since joining the ITV soap, he’s struck up a relationship with Aaron Dingle and seems to keep his life quite private.

Things started to spiral for John after Anthony Fox’s death. Aaron caught up with Anthony at the depot and demanded justice for Ruby after his own experience of abuse at the hands of his biological father, Gordon Livesy.

In a fit of rage after Anthony’s comments wound him up, Aaron threw several deadly punches towards him which left Anthony bleeding out on the floor. Although later revealed that it was Ruby who had killed him, John was quick to spring into action.

He cleaned the crime scene of any evidence and even removed his body, promising to dispose of it. He informed Aaron, Ruby, Steph, Caleb, Cain and Chas that he was buried in the woods. However, in upcoming episodes Emmerdale have teased that the body isn’t there.

During Thursday’s (10th April) hour long instalment, the episode was dedicated to flashback scenes of John. In the present, viewers watched as John took Jacob’s AAI pen from his bag, and later when Jacob goes into anaphylactic shock he’s there to magically save the day.

Viewers were then taken back to John with an injured Nate who is sat in front of his van. John said: “Moira’s in there with a shotgun and god knows who, and I’m stuck out here with you.”

As it appeared that John was attempting to save Nate – who must have been shot or injured in the barn fire – Nate collapsed, leading to John shouting in defeat.

We were then shown him wrapping Nate’s body up in chains, followed by him pushing Nate’s body into the lake, which is where he is yet to be discovered.

Asked if he’s excited John’s true colours are being shown, Oliver replied: “Yes, I think for me, the exciting thing is that the viewers find out first before anyone else in the village. So it’s kind of like letting them into these big secrets that John’s been harbouring. It’s caused him a lot of stress and anguish having to hide things.

“I think the fact that the viewers find out first, is going to be really exciting although I’ll see what the backlash is I guess! It was bound to happen at some point, so I’m glad it’s come out now”.

Speaking about Nate, he said: “Obviously, what happened with Nate to all intents and purposes was an accident, but there’s no way that John dealt with it ,or is continuing to deal with it, in the right way. Not just from a legal point of view, but from the point of view of the families that will be affected. There will certainly be a lot of fallout from that.”

Teasing what else is to come for John Sugden now that viewers have found out the truth, Oliver shared: “Yes, there’s lots of big stuff coming up. I guess with the sort of web that John’s woven for himself in the back of his mind, he’s anticipating people to start being suspicious, secrets to come out and people to start finding things out.

“He’s probably got a few set pieces prepared in his mind for dealing with all of this, but really what he’s had to do so far is just kind of think on his feet and adapt to situations around him. I’m sure this will all change soon. And the jeopardy at stake for him now is that he’s got his whole life in Emmerdale Village. He’s got the love of his life, Aaron, (Danny Miller), he’s got a family that he never had. He does not want to lose all that, under any circumstances. There’s going to be a few battles ahead, I think.”

The actor went onto add that it’s a “gift of a part” as he said: “I absolutely love it here at Emmerdale. I really, really, truly love it. I think the character is a gift, really, because the backstory that’s been created from day one is so deep. The different intricacies of the character are just so interesting to play. He’s not just a villain or a bad person on paper, there’s way, way more to it than that. Even day by day, week by week, I’m literally still discovering things about him. So yes, there’s plenty more to come.”

Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.