Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) is drawn back into his half-brother John’s (Oliver Farnworth) dark web of lies in Monday’s (21st July 2025) episode of Emmerdale.
Last week, John framed Owen Michaels (Simon Haines) for a murder he committed – that of Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).
Having found Owen unconscious, John left him for dead and wrote a confession and suicide note on the man’s laptop.
As the ITV soap picks up the following morning, John leaves it to Doctor Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) to discover the body on a welfare check.
Liam calls the police, and DS Walsh shows him the letter, with the officer later visiting Nate’s widow Tracy (Amy Walsh) and father Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) to inform them they’ve found Nate’s killer.
Tracy and Cain are deep into their own investigation over his death, and this news floors them.
Meanwhile, Robert continues to settle back into the village – with his rich history touched upon in a brief scene with Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell).
But Robert’s concerns over the “odd” John are about to resurface.
At the surgery, John feigns shock when Liam explains what has happened, and in the Woolpack, Robert is stunned when they reveal that Owen, the man who spiked Robert just a few weeks earlier, has taken his own life after admitting to Nate’s murder.
You can watch this all unfold now on ITVX, or at 7.30pm on ITV1.
We do know, though, that Robert’s suspicions about John will reach new heights when he sees a detective leaving the surgery, and finds out that John visited Owen’s home shortly before he died.
Robert soon hears concrete proof that Owen can’t possibly have killed Nate, and he heads to the police station.
Will he catch John out?