Emmerdale fans are convinced that John Sugden has a hidden romance after a series of sinister flashbacks aired on Thursday (April 10).
John arrived in the Dales back in August 2024, and was revealed to be Victoria Sugden's half-brother due to their shared father.
However, it didn't take long for soap viewers to become suspicious of the enigmatic character, despite the help he's offered several villagers.
Last week, show bosses confirmed that a series of flashbacks would delve into John's darker side, revealing the "big secrets" he's hidden from his family and friends.
Earlier this week, John was seen vandalising an abandoned car in a scrap yard, and later visited an unknown man in hospital.
"You and me, what are we gonna do? Or what am I gonna have to do?" John said before the credits started rolling.
During tonight's hour-long episode, the soap aired several flashbacks, with one clip confirming that John was, in fact, responsible for Nate Robinson's death.
John rescued Nate after the barn fire last year, and quickly gave him a shot of medication in an attempt to save him. However, Nate had an adverse reaction to the substance and tragically died.
After finding Nate's lifeless body, John drove him to the bridge and pushed the concealed corpse into the lake where the limo crash notably took place.
Another flashback revealed Ella Forster's innocence as John secretly spiked Chas Dingle. He also impersonated Liam Cavanagh in an email and threw a brick through a window at The Woolpack.
Meanwhile, in the present day, John purposely caused Jacob Gallagher to go into anaphylactic shock, before orchestrating a "rescue" by quickly administering his EpiPen.
As Emmerdale fans take in the myriad of secrets, some are thinking that the mystery hospital patient could have a significant impact on the village going forward.
Many viewers have recently shared their theory that the unknown man is the real John Sugden. Now, they believe that he could be "fake" John's hidden lover.
"The John Smith guy in the bed, it's John. The real John. And fake John must be his mate Aiden playing pretend John with real John's family. Starting from there, I have a somewhat far-fetched theory, bear with me: John loves John," one person wrote on Reddit.
"I mean, obviously John loves himself - gotta be a bit narcissistic to have a hero complex - but why would real John be in the local hospital if not for fake John to have made him come home in a coma, to have him close by? So yeah, when John joined John last night, it suddenly made sense. John's in love with John."
Another added: "Maybe the one in the bed didn't love him back or was abused by John in the relationship."
Meanwhile, a third fan offered a contrasting theory, saying: "I think that John in the bed was injured by somebody from the Dingle clan. All the saves John has made revolve around them. Moira, Ruby, Nate, Aaron, Chas. I guess Jacob is an anomaly, but John only really caused that whole thing to get at Liam?"
They continued: "Maybe the Dingles have a target on their back because of something they did to hospital John? Potentially something tied with Robert? Who knows!"
Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 at 7.30pm and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX
