Emmerdale fans 'work out' what really happened to Anthony as John caught out

Viewers are even more suspicious of John Sugden after he was caught in a lie on episode of amid his . He's been at the centre of a cover-up over the disappearance on Anthony Fox in recent months.

Anthony (played by Nicholas Day) was killed by his daughter Ruby Fox-Milligan () in January. The cover-up of his apparent death has included numerous villagers like John (Oliver Farnworth). He's claimed to have buried the body under a tree stump in the woods, though some fans he's telling the truth.

Ruby's family, including her daughter Steph Milligan (Georgia Jay), who has since been brought into the conspiracy, received flowers supposedly from Anthony last week. The identity of the sender was revealed to be Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) on Monday night, but Steph was convinced it was Anthony behind it.

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The delivery led the family to wonder if Anthony was in fact alive. Steph said: "Everything that's been happening, all the bad stuff [since he disappeared], this could actually be his doing. We have only got John's word that he buried him."

Tonight's episode of the show saw her in the middle of the woods in pursuit of confirmation. Caleb Milligan () and John confronted her at the site after turning up.

Caleb tried to stop her but she told him: "I have to know if he is dead." Steph however soon began to suspect that nothing has been buried at the location provided by John after realising that the soil appeared undisturbed.

Sharing her thoughts, Steph said: "There's nothing here. Nothing has ever been dug." She said there's no evidence that Anthony is dead and instead believed he was alive. She said: "No grave, no body - because he is not dead."

John's fiancé Aaron Dingle () agreed with her assessment of the supposed grave after arriving at the scene with Ruby. John told the group: "You all agreed to trust me, yeah? So why don't we just stick to that?"

Suspicions turned to John though, who was accused of lying by his partner Aaron. John was then forced to admit that he did bury Anthony's body but not at the location that he had claimed, with him assuring that he is dead after all.

John told the group: "Okay, fine. He's not here. I thought someone might slip up so I figured it was best not to tell you where he really is. He is dead. It's too risky for you to know everything. I mean, the fact we're here kind of proves that."

Ruby asked where her father is actually buried but John did not disclose the location. Her husband Caleb suggested that perhaps it was better for them to not know Anthony's whereabouts, with the family still unaware of the site.

John later promised Aaron that it's his "only" secret, though viewers know he's hiding much more. Not only was John of Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) but he appears to have also harmed other villagers so that he can then be their 'saviour' in orchestrated situations.

Unaware, his fiancé Aaron urged for there to be "no more lies" between them at the end of the episode and John agreed to the request. With Aaron, Ruby and her family now aware that John lied about Anthony's grave though, it's possible that more suspicion could fall on him in the future.

Fans have their thoughts on John's claim that Anthony is buried somewhere else. One wrote on X: "He ain't dead is he… what's John done." Another said: "Now I think he's alive." A third wrote: "Does nobody ever walk their in that wood, I still think psycho John has got grandad alive somewhere."

Someone said: "But is it the actual real truth though or totally just John's latest f***ing version unfortunately for everyone else? Is Anthony even really dead? Or did John somehow help him escape & if so why? What motive could he possibly have? Money?"

Another person questioned on the platform: "Has John got Anthony in a glass box like #You and after he's transferred all his money over, he will bump him off?"

Not everyone is convinced that Anthony is alive though. One person wrote: "I'm wondering if Anthony is dead… John is such a character." Another said: "What if Anthony is in the water with Nate and that's why he won't tell anyone where he is because if he's found then so is Nate!"

Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 7.30pm on ITV and STV with episodes available for streaming on ITVX and STVPlayer.

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