Emmerdale John Sugden’s return date ‘unveiled’ and it’s not Coronation Street crossover

John Sugden hasn’t been seen on Emmerdale for a month but fans are certain they know when the killer will be making his return

Emmerdale could be welcoming back killer John Sugden sooner than fans think…

The villain (Oliver Farnworth) was last seen on the ITV soap back in September, when he fled the country after his reign of terror had been exposed to everyone in the village.

The army medic notably murdered Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), and then went on to abduct Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), keeping him captive in a underground bunker that was situated at his old family home.

With plenty of people wanting to make John pay for his harrowing list of crimes John made a great escape. After blackmailing Caleb Miligan (William Ash) John managed to leave the Dales in the back of a lorry and move abroad.

Since then, there has been no update on John or his whereabouts, but Nate’s dad Cain (Jeff Hordley) has left the village to try and hunt him down.

. However, in September, a wanted poster of John was spotted by fans at the police station on rival soap Coronation Street, ahead of the historic crossover episode set to air early next year.

And while fans think John could make his return during the ‘Corriedale’ episode, other viewers think he’ll be back a lot sooner. On an Emmerdale Facebook fan page, one person said: “So is that it with John then? Will he be back to face the consequences?”

Other fans soon chimed in and shared their thoughts, with someone else writing: “Christmas I reckon he will be back.” Another agreed and chimed in: “Yeah I think Christmas.” Someone else wrote: “I don’t think it will be the crossover.”

The news of the Corrie and Emmerdale crossover was announced earlier this year, and will see the two soaps join forces in a one-off hour-long special episode for the first time in British soap history.

Corriedale will air on ITV, STV, ITVX and YouTube in early 2026, and will herald the start of the new soap power hour schedule, with each show screening 30 minute episodes every weekday, Emmerdale at 8pm, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.

While filming is underway, details of the stunt and which characters are involved are being kept under wraps for the time being.