Emmerdale‘s John Sugden has another problem on his plate to deal with next week, when Robert’s spiker reappears in the village.

When lonely Robert went on a date with Owen at The Hide recently, John watched on as his older brother’s drink was spiked.

Waiting in the wings until Robert was drugged and delirious, John rescued him from Owen’s clutches and gave the dangerous villain a stern warning not to return, before bundling Robert into his campervan.

So when Owen arrives at the surgery for an appointment next week, he’s shocked to come face to face with John.

Robert’s shaken to see Owen again so close to home after what could have happened had his brother not stepped in, and he thanks John for throwing Owen out of the surgery.

Although Robert is grateful and plays nice in front of Aaron, there’s still something odd about John that makes him suspicious…

Later in the week, Owen’s name appears on Liam Cavanagh’s list of call-outs.

Is John about to pay him a house call instead – and if so, what deadly scheme is he plotting this time? And with Owen’s reappearance coinciding with the drama surrounding Nate Robinson’s funeral, could it all get too much for John?

Emmerdale star Ryan Hawley, who plays Robert, recently confirmed that his character’s suspicions of John will be a major storyline to watch over the next few months.

“[My return is] indefinite. Robert is back in the village, he’s coming back to try and win Aaron back,” Ryan explained during an appearance on ITV1’s Lorraine.

“He’s gonna put a stop to John. Well, is he? He’s gonna try.”

He added: “Well, we hope that’s going to happen. But will it? I can’t really give anything away in that sense, but there’s a lot of obstacles that Robert has to overcome before that’s going to happen.”