Fans of ITV soap Emmerdale believe they’ve spotted a clue that proves John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) killed Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).

Nate has been missing from the village since September 2024. Prior to his disappearance, he spoke to partner Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) about being offered a new job in Shetland.

Tracy never went with Nate to Shetland due to having a falling out with him. The character seemingly departed off-screen for his new life, failing to say goodbye to his family members.

As a result of the exit happening away from our TV screens, it left audience members of Emmerdale convinced that Nate never got to Shetland.

In February, during the limo crash disaster, this theory was fuelled when Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jameson) spotted a corpse as she fell through the frozen lake. It wasn’t confirmed at the time that it was Nate, but we know eventually that the body will more than likely be identified as his.

Which, of course, leads us onto the question of just who killed him. Top of just about everybody’s lists right now is John, and a few eagle-eyed fans of the show have dug into the Emmerdale archives to try and find any scenes that planted some foreshadowing about him.

In September last year, just after the barn fire, Tracy approached John in the village and wondered why she could smell smoke.

John was covered in ash after helping in the ordeal, but seemed distracted by something in his van.

John was staring into the vehicle, and only stopped because Tracy was near him. He explained that a few residents were in hospital and when Tracy asked about Nate, John said that he had already left the village and wasn’t involved.

As a result of the storyline now developing, this scene looks very suspicious indeed. Did John kill Nate, and was looking at his body before Tracy arrived?

‘This is the part where I think John had Nate dead in his van because he looks into it and when Tracy comes over he closes it before we can have a look. Why would he stare straight into his van for no reason? Along side no one wanting to see in it?’, a user said in the comments of the clip on YouTube.

‘This is the scene that made me think John is a nutter. Him hiding Anthony’s body with ease just further confirmed it!’, another said, echoing the theory.

We don’t have long to wait when it comes to learning more about John, as upcoming episodes will confirm he is hiding more secrets from his friends in the village.

‘Since enigmatic and inscrutable John Sugden arrived on our screens last summer, he’s managed to hide some pretty big secrets from his family and friends,’ producer Laura Shaw revealed.

‘As his clandestine acts are revealed, the audience has an opportunity to really get inside John’s mind and to finally understand exactly what this mysterious character is really about.’