Emmerdale spoilers follow further down.

Emmerdale will face a scheduling shake-up from ITV amid the dark revelations regarding John Sugden.

The character arrived in the village last year, subsequently landing a position at the doctor’s surgery whilst beginning a relationship with Aaron Dingle as he became a popular figure in the community.

Things are rarely so simple in soap-land, however, with recent scenes revealing that John isn’t quite as benevolent as he first seemed, with the character showcasing his darker side after he had a bad day at work.

With more secrets set to be unearthed, fans will unfortunately be kept on tenterhooks over the Easter holidays as the episode scheduled for Monday 21 April has been removed from the slate, with ITV instead opting to air the Championship fixture between Burnley and Sheffield Utd.

john sugden, emmerdale

ITV

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The soap will return as planned the following night (22 April), with the missing 30 mins being made up for this coming week (14 April) as the action kicks off with a bumper, hour-long instalment.

The shake-up comes amid some shocking revelations regarding John, with this week’s scenes confirming that he had orchestrated some of the incidents in the village to satisfy his own hero complex whilst also being responsible for the death of Nate Robinson.

Oliver Farnworth, who debuted as John back in August, recently spoke about his character’s darker side, sharing: “For me, the exciting thing is that the viewers find out first before anyone else in the village. So it’s letting them into these big secrets that John’s been harbouring.

emmerdale, john sugden in the woods

ITV

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“It’s caused him a lot of stress and anguish having to hide things. I think the fact that the viewers find out first is going to be really exciting, although I’ll see what the backlash is, I guess! It was bound to happen at some point, so I’m glad it’s come out now.

“The different intricacies of the character are just so interesting to play. He’s not just a villain or a bad person on paper – there’s way more to it than that. Even day by day, week by week, I’m literally still discovering things about him. There’s plenty more to come – it’s a gift of a part.”

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.

Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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