In a shocking turn of Emmerdale events, John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) managed to get away with his crimes once again.

But this is a soap, and something tells us that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the killer!

Viewers will know that since his arrival in the village, John has taken several lives and attempted to take even more. He even went as far as to hold Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) hostage in an underground bunker after shooting him with a crossbow.

In more recent scenes, it looked as though John was finally set to get his comeuppance when Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) hunted him down, though things took a shocking turn when he was double-crossed by brother Caleb Miligan (William Ash), who hit him with a shovel.

Having dealt with Cain, Caleb helped John leave the country, in exchange for him deleting the email that was scheduled to be sent to the police revealing the location of Anthony Fox’s body.

Not willing to see his wife and other family members go to prison, Caleb helped John flee to Rotterdam.

Has John left Emmerdale for good?

Although it seems as though John has successfully fled the country, fans aren’t convinced that there won’t be another twist in the tale.

Taking to Facebook, Metro readers speculated that there is still more to come, anticipating a return for the character later this year.

‘Just when you think it’s all over ………., christmas time, mistletoe and [wine], that creep is going on and on and on,’ Lesley Smith theorised.

‘We’ll see him again next week back in the village completely unnoticed, hiding behind lampposts,’ Anita Griffin predicted.

Meanwhile, Jane Driffill came up with a lengthy theory, writing: ‘I think Caleb hitting Cain was the plan B… Enough time for him to gain Johns trust to cancel the email and give the location on dead or not dead Anthony….Caleb will know people at the port being in logistics…no way would them boarder force people miss john in that lorry.. .. just a stalling tactic…. I don’t think John will make it out of the country and if he does .. the drama will unfold in Rotterdam….in time for super soap week.’

Other fans suspect that Caleb will turn on the killer after getting what he wanted.

‘Now Caleb has got the direction and the email is cancelled hopefully he’ll call the police and tell them where John is,’ Angie Johns declared.

Jane McDonald speculated: ‘Cain will alert the police and they will be waiting for them in [Rotterdam] Caleb will be arrested and Cain will get his revenge.’

Although other Metro readers aren’t sure exactly what could be ahead, they are certain that it will involve some kind of twist.

‘I still think theres a twist yet prob hired someone over there to do him in,’ Blore Deb wrote, while Rapinder Sandhu Sanghera said: ‘there will be another twist . I can’t see the writers letting John escape.’

‘Bet there’s another twist,’ Betty Mc echoed.

So, is it really the end for John, or does he have another trick up his sleeve? Could he be set to wreak more havoc and finish what he started?

Is John Sugden ever coming back to Emmerdale?

Well, it’s funny you should say that. Although we haven’t seen him in Emmerdale, he did pop up across the Pennines in Coronation Street last week.

With filming kickstarting on the much-anticipated crossover episode coming at the start of 2026 to kick off ITV’s new soap hour scheduling pattern, little hints of what it could be based around have already dropped into shot.

In a blink and you’ll miss it moment, a wanted poster featuring John can be seen behind Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey).

This is bound to be more than just an Easter Egg for fans – John appearing in this way surely indicates that the place he may end up looming while on the run will be Britain’s most famous cobbled street.

Consider us intrigued!