The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.

John Sugden (Oliver Farnwroth) found an opportunity to get his old job back in Emmerdale tonight, and he grabbed it with both hands.

The complex character was revealed as Nate Robinson’s (Jurell Carter) murderer a few weeks ago. The former member of the army gave Nate some medication after he was attacked, but he had a bad reaction to it and died. John then disposed of Nate’s body in the lake.

What we also know about John is that he has a hero complex. He orchestrates situations that he knows he can fix, and is then praised by the people around him. So far, he’s put the likes of Chas (Lucy Pargeter) and Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) in danger and then saved them. In tonight’s episode, it was Liam’s (Jonny McPherson) turn.

John knocked Liam unconscious recently, believing he was Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb). He was quick on his feet though, and rushed into the scene to try and help him, looking like a good person in front of Chas and Aaron (Danny Miller).

In tonight’s episode, Liam’s anxiety increased when Claudette (Flo Wilson) accidentally knocked a plant on the floor. The sudden smash brought Liam back to the moment where he was attacked, which caused him to become overwhelmed and struggle with his breathing.

Sensing an opportunity, John swept in and helped Liam calm down. The incident happened moments after John told Liam he was quitting work at the surgery, so it suddenly seemed as though he was quite invaluable.

Later on, in the café, Liam approached John and urged him to come back to work at the surgery. He said he really needed his help, and how it was clear patients would continue to benefit from his skills.

John, playing it cool, said yes but made sure Liam knew they weren’t completely back on the same page. Once again, John took advantage of a struggling resident to make sure he looked good.

This decreases the chance of people ever growing suspicious about him but with Cain (Jeff Hordley) determined to find out why Nate isn’t ringing him back, John will have more to worry about when the Dingles discover he never actually got to Shetland…