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

PC Swirling (Andy Moore) arrived at John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) and Aaron Dingle’s (Danny Miller) wedding in tonight’s episode of Emmerdale – and he wasn’t there to watch the characters tie the knot.

Over the past couple of days, John has desperately tried to keep control of his many dark secrets, but has faced multiple challenges that have risked his web of lies unravelling completely.

Aidan Moore, his old lover, has now woken up from his coma. The development left John fearing that he’d remember absolutely everything about their past together, but then calmed down a little when he learnt Aidan was still non-verbal.

Elsewhere, when John learned that Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) was back from Shetland after going in search of Nate, he confronted her and tried to convince her that reporting him as a missing person wouldn’t be a good idea.

Fortunately, John was quick on his feet and managed to leave Belle with the conclusion that it would be better for Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) and Frankie if they left Nate in the past.

He then overheard a conversation between Moira (Natalie J Robb) and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) about the lake being dredged. The decision came as a result of the slurry leak, and it left John petrified Nate’s body would be discovered in a matter of days.

Keeping so much from everyone has, unsurprisingly, had a massive impact on John’s mental health. As tonight’s episode opened, he suffered a nightmare that saw PC Swirling arrive at the wedding and arrest John, but whether that actually happens in real life or not remains to be seen.

In the present day reality, a panicked John was caught packing a bag by Aaron. He covered by saying he was having pre-wedding jitters, and didn’t think they needed a massive ceremony to declare their love for each other.

But the wedding had been organised and paid for, cancelling it for something small and intimate wasn’t going to happen.

John was then seen sneaking onto the land near the lake. He managed to overhear a conversation between a worker and Moira, confirming the dredging had been put on hold.

Relieved, John concluded that he could return to the village and marry Aaron after all.

When he got back though, John was confronted by Cathleen, Aidan’s mum. She told him that she’d stand in the street and shout the odds until he goes with her to see Aidan at the hospital.

But if John goes, how will that change the course of this week?