John brutally attacks Emmerdale local in early ITVX release – and is then hailed a hero

John Sugden is spinning a lot of plates (Picture: ITV)

The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.

What we’ve learnt about John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) in Emmerdale is that he lives with somewhat of a hero complex. He orchestrates terrible events, knowing he can step in at the last second and save whoever is in trouble.

This happened with Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter). John gave her an overdose of drugs and then found her collapsed on the floor in the pub. He rushed her to hospital, with Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) later thanking him for being there.

Sometimes though, John’s plans don’t always work. After Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) was attacked by Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), John tried to help by giving him pain relief. Nate reacted badly to the medicine and then died, so John disposed of his body in the lake.

This week, John’s anger has grown towards Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb). He discovered the truth about John’s old lover Aidan Moore and then immediately told Aaron, who reacted by saying he’s not even sure if he wants to marry John anymore.

John smacked Liam with a plank of wood (Picture: ITV)

Frustrated that Mack got in the way of his plan, John concluded that he needed to be taught a lesson…but he didn’t expect his idea to go quite so wrong.

After overhearing Mackenzie and Liam talk about manure (for the allotment, before you ask), John had knowledge that Mack would be in a specific location around midday.

All he had to do was take himself out of his shift at the surgery, which was pretty easy once he claimed he was full of sickness germs.

Outside, John approached a shed with a plank of wood in his hand. He then attacked a man, sending him straight to the floor unconscious.

However, instead of Mackenzie, John quickly realised he had just knocked Liam out.

The attacked was meant for Mackenzie (Picture: ITV)

Thinking on his feet, John waited a few moments for Mack to find Liam, and then jumped into action when Chas and Aaron rushed out of the pub.

He encouraged them both to give Liam some space while he checked the doctor over. They did just that and because John appeared so confident, even asking questions about who could’ve been responsible, he didn’t look the slightest bit guilty.

John’s plan didn’t go the way he wanted, but it ended with him back at the Mill Cottage flat with Aaron.

With Mackenzie still very much alive and not subjected to any revenge by John, will he strike again?