As the latest in a long line of evil villains, Emmerdale’s John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) has wreaked havoc on the eponymous village, leaving chaos in his wake.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from his predecessors it’s that the justice will prevail – eventually -meaning John will inevitably get his comeuppance at some stage in the future.

With Robert (Ryan Hawley) back and vying for Aaron Dingle’s (Danny Miller) affection, fans were convinced for a time that the popular character would play an instrumental role in the killer’s downfall.

However, a recent scene has poured cold water on that theory, with another Emmerdale favourite officially in the mix regarding who will take down the murderer with a hero complex.

I am of course referring to Caleb Miligan (William Ash).

With John having assisted in the cover-up of the murder of Anthony Fox (Nicholas Day) – who was killed by Ruby Fox-Milligan (Beth Cordingly) – Caleb was incredibly grateful to him for what he did.

John, as we all know, loves to play the hero, and therefore, he lapped up Caleb’s gratitude, delighted that the Dingles were so appreciative of his efforts.

However, with Robert back in town, John’s anxiety is spiralling out of control, with the killer fearful that his long-lost brother will swoop back in and whisk one true love Aaron – who John married last month – off his feet again.

Caleb, meanwhile, decided to offer Robert a job, thus giving him another reason to stay in the village. Desperate to get rid of Robert, John resorted to blackmail, urging Caleb to sack the returnee, making reference to how he assisted with getting rid of Anthony.

It takes a lot to spook Caleb but it was quite clear that he didn’t like being put in such a position by someone he thought he could trust.

With Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) having promised to keep his mouth shut and Ruby officially in the clear with the police, Caleb thought the Anthony nightmare was over – but the John development could prove otherwise. That is, unless he deals with the problem himself?

Fans certainly reckon that this could be what’s coming.

Fan Niall wrote on X: ‘The mask slips John. Blackmailing Caleb is going to be a key to his downfall.’

Fellow user @WareNext said: ‘Caleb has a backup plan!!!! Please… have a backup plan. John’s getting itchy feet’, while Jehan wrote that they hope John blackmailing Caleb will ‘come back to bite him’.