The wedding of Emmerdale sweethearts John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) is almost upon us – and stressed-out John is plagued with pre-marital nightmares.

And who can blame him for feeling nervous? Since arriving in the village, John’s struggled to keep his secrets buried, between comatose ex Aidan Moore, and his accidentally murdering Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).

John’s managed to keep the suspicions of Aaron and sister Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) at bay for the most part, although the interference of Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) and people learning about Aidan have only added to the pressure.

And now, with the lake where he disposed of Nate’s body set to be dredged, John fears that the net might finally be closing in.

With the wedding quickly approaching, John’s anxieties begin ramping up, and he experiences a series of terrible nightmares, envisioning the many ways it might go terribly wrong.

Can John keep his composure long enough to tie the knot?

It’s week of the wedding, and John is distracted by nightmares of being arrested for Nate’s murder when he should be preparing to marry Aaron.

Meanwhile, Moria Dingle (Natalie J Robb) watches anxiously as workers begin dredging the lake.

And, when Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) reveals that the dredging has begun, a panicked John starts packing his bags, ready to flee.

Aaron catches him as he’s making his escape, but John makes out that it’s just pre-wedding jitters – and, as soon as Aaron leaves, John finishes his packing and drives away.

Later, hiding at the lake, John receives a loving text from his future husband.Seeing the workers pack up their tools with the news that dredging has been cancelled, John breathes a sigh of relief.

However, his plans to proceed with the wedding are thrown into chaos when Aidan’s mother, Cathleen, arrives – bearing the news that her son hassuddenly arisen from his coma and is asking for John.

As his wedding day grows nearer, sleeping John is tormented by fresh nightmares – Aidan, interrupting the wedding.

Jolting awake, John is worried about Aidan’s sudden return to consciousness. Reassuring Cathleen that he has time to visit, he heads off to the hospital – followed by Aaron, who is fearing the worst.

The next day, John’s nightmares continue, and this time John suffers visions of Aaron backing away at the altar, claiming that he doesn’t trust John.

Snapping back to reality, he watches Aaron storm away, convinced that John is still in love with Aidan.

Meanwhile, back at the Woolpack, Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper), Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Victoria awkwardly cover for the missing grooms.

John finds Aaron, and attempts to explain himself. Aaron is unreadable in the face of John’s excuses but, as they arrive at the venue, it seems as though the wedding is back on.

With Mack a no-show, Aaron enlists father figure Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) as his best man, getting the ceremony underway.

Amid all the unfolding drama, star Oliver Farnworth has revealed what’s going through John’s head during this stressful time.

‘There’s so much jeopardy surrounding John the week of the wedding. Aidan’s in his hospital bed. For all intents and purposes John thought he would be there for the rest of his life and he could go and visit him,’ Oliver said of Aidan’s sudden awakening.

‘Now he’s woken up and John’s been confiding in him all the time. How much of it does he know and does he remember?’

Oliver continued: ‘We don’t know what Aidan’s going to reveal. Not necessarily the things John has imparted to him about recent events, but what’s he going to reveal about events from quite a long time ago? So there’s that jeopardy as well.’

Meanwhile, his nerves and sense of guilt are also at an all-time high as a result of the slurry leak, which left his young nephew fighting for his life.

‘It’s all his own making as well, because he tries to stitch Mack up and it backfires and the water supply is poisoned and people end up in hospital,’ Oliver said.

This, in turn, leads to the lake needing to be drained, which will inevitably lead to the discovery of Nate’s body – ‘the worst thing that could happen when he’s meant to be getting married!’

It’s no wonder he’s experiencing sleepless nights, then… another risk, given his habit of sleep-talking.

‘There’s a lot of sleepless nights for him. The problem with that is he’s having nightmares and talking in his sleep, so he becomes terrified of going to sleep because he doesn’t want anything to come out while he’s asleep.

‘It’s just a big web that he’s pretty much created for himself and he’s constantly putting out fires, very much in a state of flight during that week – but also excited about getting married.’

Will John’s worst fears come to pass?