John’s ‘next move’ to be his darkest yet in Emmerdale – and it’s bad news for Aaron

Calli Kitson

Published January 27, 2025 8:55am Updated January 27, 2025 9:46am

Aaron Dingle and John Sugden in front of the Emmerdale village — His dark side is showing more and more (Picture: ITV/REX)

The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV yet, but is available to view on ITVX.

Emmerdale fans have been suspicious of John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) for ages, but they’ve seemingly got his true character nailed following Anthony Fox’s (Nicholas Day) death.

Sex abuser Anthony was murdered last week after multiple people discovered he raped daughter Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly) when she was a child.

One person among the group learning of this revelation was Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller). He recognised his own fear in Ruby and set about confronting Anthony.

In the depot, Aaron told Anthony that his own father sexually abused him when he was a child, but the evil man ended his life in prison a few years ago.

Sorry, this video isn't available any more.

He went on to say that he could kill Anthony, but didn’t want to go to prison because he has people in the village who love him. Aaron aimed to drive Anthony to the police station, but the character wound him up, resulting in Aaron attacking him.

He left Anthony in a bloodied mess on the floor and returned home. There, John found Aaron acting strangely and once he noticed blood on his neck, demanded to know what had happened.

When Aaron and John got back to the depot, Anthony was dead. As Aaron panicked, his partner took control of the situation and removed the man’s body from the floor.

The next day, Aaron continued to feel overwhelmed with his guilt. Behind the pub, as he wondered what they’d do with Anthony’s car, John snapped at his boyfriend, in a way we’ve not seen before.

It was these scenes, coupled with previous speculation that John is hiding something, that has left fans of the ITV soap convinced he was the one who really murdered Anthony.

Emmerdale's Anthony fights tears in Mill Cottage — Anthony was killed last week (Picture: ITV)

Aaron and John sit in a forest in Emmerdale — Fans are convinced John is hiding something (Picture: ITV)

‘Could John have finished him off? We only have his word Anthony was dead. Could he have finished the job when Aaron was gone?’, one user of X wondered.

Echoing this, and the possibility John is trying to frame Aaron, this audience member wrote: ‘Something is off about John. Did John kill Anthony and wants Aaron to think he did? Why?’.

To further fuel this theory, tonight’s episode of the ITV soap saw John encourage Aaron to continue helping with covering their tracks in the aftermath of Anthony’s death.

Once they discovered Cain Dingle’s (Jeff Hordley) garage would be empty for a few days, they put Anthony’s car inside.

Follow Metro Soaps on WhatsApp and get all the latest spoilers first!

Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who’s leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale?

Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews.

Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers!

Just before they started stripping down the vehicle, Aaron found a CD in the glove compartment. He assumed Steph Miligan (Georgia Jay) had made it for her granddad, which made him feel even worse.

John said that he could strip the car on his own, but he doesn’t have any idea of how to do it. Aaron said he would help, leaving John pleased to have control.