Emmerdale’s John Sugden’s deadly past was finally exposed during Thursday’s episode of the ITV soap.

The paramedic practitioner, played by Oliver Farnsworth, first appeared in the Dales last year.

And John has been hiding a lot of secrets from his friends, family and even his fiance Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller).

Thursday night’s instalment of Emmerdale treated viewers to a series of flashbacks which have shown John’s true colours – and what truly happened to Nate Robinson when he died back in February.

Actor Oliver, 42, even admitted that he’s braced himself for fan backlash following the revelatory episode.

When asked if he was pleased that viewers will finally get to see the true John, Oliver said: ‘Yes, I think for me, the exciting thing is that the viewers find out first before anyone else in the village.

‘So it’s kind of like letting them into these big secrets that John’s been harbouring.

‘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.’

Talking about what happened with Nate, he added: ‘What happened with Nate to all intents and purposes was an accident, but there’s no way that John dealt with it, or is continuing to deal with it, in the right way.

‘Not just from a legal point of view, but from the point of view of the families that will be affected.

‘There will certainly be a lot of fallout from that.’

It sounds like there is plenty more drama for viewers to enjoy in the coming weeks.

John said: ‘People to start being suspicious, secrets to come out and people to start finding things out.

‘He’s probably got a few set pieces prepared in his mind for dealing with all of this, but really what he’s had to do so far is just kind of think on his feet and adapt to situations around him.

‘I’m sure this will all change soon.

‘And the jeopardy at stake for him now is that he’s got his whole life in Emmerdale Village.

‘He’s got the love of his life, Aaron, (Danny Miller), he’s got a family that he never had. He does not want to lose all that, under any circumstances.

‘There’s going to be a few battles ahead, I think.’

Back in January Nate Robinson was found dead at the bottom of a lake and his death has become a huge mystery.

Amy Wyatt had spotted a clue that hinted at his fate, but she passed away after the dramatic limo crash, meaning that nobody could find out the truth.

Back in February a number of names started floating around about who they thought had killed him.

And one name who stood out was John, after he was the last person to see him alive on-screen.

Fans have been sharing their theories on social media, with one saying: ‘Can’t believe us ‘John Sugden’ serial killer believers on tumblr were right.’

Another fan speculated: ‘Reckon Nate was poking about in John’s camper and found something.’

While a third fan said: ‘I vaguely remember a scene where John was acting weird near his van & had the slide door open but someone appeared and he quickly closed the door as though he was hiding something inside… possibly Nate’s body?’