Oliver Farnworth made his Emmerdale debut, taking on the role of newcomer John Sugden, a fresh love interest for Aaron Dingle. But fans weren’t happy with his arrival.

Emmerdale viewers couldn’t help but point out the strong resemblance between Aaron’s first romantic encounters with former husband Robert and new love interest John Sugden.

Actor Oliver Farnworth was announced to join the line-up of the ITV soap earlier this year and made his Dales this Wednesday, August 7, as the enigmatic John Sugden.

However, the hunky newcomer remained nameless as he headed out to his date with Aaron Dingle (portrayed by Danny Miller). Just like fans of the Yorkshire-based programme had suspected earlier this week, John was, indeed, the man Aaron was chatting to on a dating app.

But the pair of men never made it to their date as they bumped into one another outside the eponymous village, with John asking Aaron for help with his car, left on the side of the road after a mishap.

Fans complained that Aaron and John’s first encounter was too similar to the former’s first kiss with Robert Sugden (Image: ITV)

Once the damage on the vehicle was repaired by Aaron himself, the duo shared a kiss, which quickly escalated into a romp on the side of the road, leaving many soap fans to notice the moment was too similar to Aaron’s first kiss with another Sugden, his ex-husband Robert.

Viewers at home flocked to X, otherwise known as Twitter, to complain, with one penning: “I just hate that the John Aaron thing was to much like #robron’s first kiss…. why did #emmerdale writers almost copy that scene? Isn´t it enough they made a copy of Robert?”

One added that bosses appeared to be “copying ‘Robron’s’ origins” as they wrote: “So I saw these scenes on Monday and John’s voice sounded exactly like Robert’s…could not get over that, or #Emmerdale copying #Robron’s origins!!”

Another commented, along with a yawning emoji: “So John Sugden has arrived! And he’s just a bit of vacuous crumpet for Aaron and a-bit-of-a-bad-boy. Honestly this soap is just so dead. Do it a favour and put it out of its misery.” A final fan then quipped: “So, John is a discount Robert Sugden.”

Unfortunately, Aaron got a nasty surprise after his outdoor romp as John fled the scene with his belongings – and Eric Pollard’s car keys. Aaron managed to head back to the village, letting Mackenzie Boyd and Victoria Sugden the bad news. But when the trio agreed to track John down, Aaron admitted he knew nothing of him, not even his name. How will they find him?

While this remains to be seen, John Sugden is set to cause chaos when he arrives in the Dales very soon. He describes himself as “enigmatic” and has a military past. He sees himself as a “lone wolf” but what will happen when he meets Victoria, his supposed half-sister?

Speaking to The Mirror and other press, he teased: “I’ve been here a few weeks now, and it’s just been a dream. It really is going right into the deep end with the character. He’s got a pretty amazing backstory. Obviously half brother to Victoria, which we find out quite quickly, but there’s a whole lot of depth to him and little bits just kind of coming out now, but it’s been a whirlwind.”