Emmerdale viewers were shocked after Victoria Sugden was seemingly drugged by her brother John Sugden in mysterious scenes that aired on Friday night’s episode of the ITV soap. Over the last year, evil doctor John has killed Nate Robinson, indirectly caused the death of Owen Michaels by leaving him to die, framed him for Nate’s murder, and nearly killed himself and Aaron Dingle, whom he was married to at the time.

Aside from that, he also drugged Chas Dingle, emailed about cancelling her wedding, and threw a brick through the window of her pub, but it looks like his dastardly deeds are far from over. The medic, played by Oliver Farnworth, made a shock return to the Yorkshire village over Christmas, and in the latest instalment of the long-running serial, he was seen threatening sister Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) in a worrying scene.

Having broken into her house, Victoria was left in shock as she walked into her kitchen and saw John waiting for her. He simply said: “Hello, sis.” He grabbed hold of her, and she protested, but he reassured her that he had no intention of hurting her. She told her son, Harry, to stay upstairs and begged John not to hurt him. He said: “How could you think such a thing?”

With her hands up, Victoria said: “Because you’re a murderer!” before John explained: “I’m not. You cannot believe that. I never meant to kill anyone, I swear. I couldn’t stay away forever, could I? You, and me, Aaron and Harry, we are family, we cannot let anyone come between us. Please, don’t be scared. This will not hurt a bit.”

At that point, John pulled out a needle and left Victoria terrified as he walked towards her with it – but that was the last viewers saw of her in the episode, leaving no hint as to what may have happened. Reacting to the moment, fans of the show took to social media to wonder what was going on as it all seemed to be part of a grand plan for the villain to flee the village entirely.

One viewer wrote on X: “Something tells me that the only reason John wants to take Vic and harry with them is so he can use them to control Aaron otherwise Aaron would just run off on,” and another said: “He has no problems hurting Vic & Harry if his plan fails and we know it does so the 4 of them will never be safe.”

A third wrote: “John boy wants to go to France with Aaron, Vic & Harry, that’s the great plan & the only way it’s going to happen is if John threatens them,” and a fourth added: “How many drugs does John just have with him? Seems to have a never ending supply of them to assault and kill people with. He’s drugging Vic and Harry now too.”

It looks as though all the action is leading up to the programme’s crossover with fellow soap Coronation Street, which will air as a one-hour special titled Corriedale, on Monday 5 January. One excited fan wrote: “Wow! Today’s episode was intense; it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The acting was excellent, and even the other characters’ performances caught my attention. The pieces are starting to fall into place on the road to Corriedale,” but another wondered how it was possible for John to appear in it at all, given that he previously starred as Weatherfield resident Andy Carver.

They wrote: “How the hell is John from Emmerdale appearing in Corriedale when he was Andy in Corrie killed by Pat Phelan surely someones going to recognise him.”

Bosses recently confirmed that evil John, who has been played by Oliver Farnworth since summer 2024, will have a key role in the Coronation Street and Emmerdale crossover in a couple of weeks’ time – but exactly what happens has remained firmly under wraps.

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Oliver said of his return: “The rumour is true, uh-oh! Corriedale has been such a huge set piece, it’s taken much longer to film than the normal double episodes. So the prep and the filming started way back in August or September time. So I knew that my character was going on the run and I knew what he was coming back to do.”

Addressing John’s decision to come back, Oliver warned that the villain would be more “unhinged” than ever. He shared: “I think love ultimately brings him back, and jealousy brings him back. He feels like he has got far less to lose this time, and so we might see a slightly more dishevelled and unhinged side to John. Not that he can get anymore unhinged, but he’s even more unhinged.”