John Sugden may have taken a back seat in Emmerdale of late, but that hasn’t stopped viewers from sharing their thoughts and theories about him.

Ever since John Sugden (played by Oliver Farnworth) arrived in the village, Emmerdale fans have become suspicious of who he really is.

Many think that John has stolen someone’s identity and that he’s not really a Sugden or related to Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) at all.

Taking to a Facebook fan page, one fan theorised: “I think I have figured out what’s going on with John, I reckon he’s connected with Robert but not in the way he’s saying.. I think he was in prison with him and either loved him or hated him, and he’s come to Emmerdale to get with Aaron because of whatever went on inside…

“Robert is being mentioned too often for there not to be an upcoming storyline about it.. I think Robert gets released and when he arrives back he sees John and it all comes out… Just my theory.”

Someone else replied: “I think it’s stolen identity and the real brother is dead, I wish Robert would come back but I have read there’s no plans for him to yet.”

Another pointed out: “Eric Pollard knows he is John Sugden.”

“Well Robert is coming back apparently,” a fourth went on as one fan added: “Would love Robert back.”

Robert Sugden returned to the soap in October 2014, with actor Ryan Hawley taking over the role. The actor left the village in 2019 after his character was jailed for the death of Lee Posner (Kris Mochrie).

In recent scenes in the ITV soap, Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) was left reeling from the news that Rebecca White (Emily Head) is dead, leaving her son Seb in the care of Rebecca’s aunt.

Fans of the soap will remember that Aaron’s former flame, Robert, is Seb’s dad and is currently behind bars. The bombshell about Rebecca was dropped by her ex, Ross Barton (Michael Parr).

Aaron was hit hard by the revelation, wondering why Seb wasn’t placed with him or with Robert’s sister, Victoria.

In a heart-to-heart, Victoria reassured Aaron that Robert always saw him as Seb’s “second dad” and cherished him, but ultimately, Seb needed the stability of living with Rebecca’s aunt.

This poignant moment was accidentally eavesdropped on by Aaron’s new beau, John, who shockingly turned out to be the long-lost half-brother of both Robert and Victoria.

John tried to pry more details from Victoria, but she redirected him to Aaron. During an episode that aired last week, Aaron hesitantly confided in John about Robert, but when John probed further into his emotions, Aaron couldn’t handle the pressure and bolted.

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7.30pm on ITV.