Emmerdale John Sugden clues tease villain will finally be exposed very soon

It can only be a matter of time before Emmerdale villain John Sugden is finally exposed to the village.

Nate Robinson's murdererhas managed to remain undetected despite a number of mistakes and some shifty behaviour. John killed Nate by accident before dumping his body in the lake and then using Nate's phone to pretend he'd simply moved on, cutting his family out of his life.

As well as almost framing Nate's wife Tracy for the death when his body was found, John said nothing and acted like he hadn't just murdered someone for months. While the guilt is slowly eating away at him now, he's allowed another person, Owen, to die instead of saving him.

This week he framed patient Owen with a faked confession regarding Nate's demise. He filled the confession and suicide note with so much detail only the killer would know, while spoilers have teased an alibi could jeopardise John's dark plan.

Amid this he's struggling to cope with his actions, confiding in a volunteer at an online helpline about his guilt. He has no idea though that it's Paddy Kirk, father figure of John's husband Aaron Dingle, that he is speaking with.

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John's also sparked suspicion with his brother Robert Sugden, who is onto him as it is. But new information about John being at Owen's house before he died has sent Robert's mind whirling.

Robert has no idea just how far John's crimes go though, with him orchestrating a harassment campaign against Chas Dingle and Liam Cavanagh all to get closer to them and be the hero, framing Ella Forster in the process. John also triggered a number of events, while also being in the right place at the right time too.

He left Cain Dingle in serious danger recently with everyone thinking he'd simply drunk too much alcohol and collapsed, with John actually to blame. He deliberately caused Jacob Gallagher to have an allergic reaction by switching their coffees, all so he could save Jacob and again be the hero.

He attacked Liam believing it was Mack Boyd before then saving him, while his feud with Mack also led to him deliberately causing the slurry leak at the farm to frame his enemy. This worked, and Mack's sister Moira is still at risk of losing her home and the farm, due to fines and losses in finances.

John spiked Chas at one point before saving her, also rescuing Ruby Miligan from the barn fire and saving Moira then too just moments after killing Nate. Each time he has done something, his actions have alarmed fans given how careless he can be with the "clean-up" whether that be covering his tracks, disposing of evidence or framing someone.

Robert learns about the Jacob incident next week, already onto John about Nate and Owen's apparent crime. Whether anyone listens to Robert remains to be seen though, but fans believe John's husband Aaron is now onto him after catching him burning his medical supplies.

Mack was also onto John at one point and has refused to get involved since. But this hasn't stopped fans thinking Mack and Robert will soon join forces to expose John, with Mack's mystery flashforward still not aired.

Claudette Anderson also knows about John visiting Owen, so perhaps she may look into matters, and then there's Liam who wasn't John's biggest fan previously. All it's going to take is a current ally to turn on John, whether they work with Robert or not.

John's own clumsiness could be his ultimate downfall, leaving behind evidence or accidentally giving away his crimes or a crime he's yet to commit. Then there's Paddy who we now know is John's mystery confidant - so will John get a little too vocal and end up giving away what he's done to Paddy?

What if Ella was to return and find a way to prove her innocence? Will they ever question who really attacked Liam all those weeks ago, and will Aidan awake from his coma again and finally expose what John did to him?

With there being such a focus on a huge September plot and new characters Kev, Celia and Ray, all tipped to be baddies, surely the currently village baddie John is on his way out. With so many people now questioning him and Robert keen to expose him for once and for all, not to mention John's lies so close to unraveling in more ways than one, it's certainly paving the way for him to be rumbled and a comeuppance could be imminent.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads.