Emmerdale viewers believe that John Sugden’s mum isn’t really dead and she might have already appeared on screen.
John (Oliver Farnworth) first arrived in the Dales last year, and has inflicted a lot of pain on the villagers since then.
He notably killed Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) after the barn fire, before framing Owen Michaels (Simon Haines) for the crime.
That’s not all, as he also framed Ella Forster (Paula Lane) for drugging Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), got Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) dangerously drunk, and induced an allergic reaction in Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant).
Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) became John’s latest target when he was shot through the chest, before being locked away in an underground bunker.
John and his husband, Aaron (Danny Miller), soon fled the village to stay in a remote cottage.
When Aaron asked if John could get in touch with the cottage’s owner to see if they could buy it, the villain reluctantly agreed.
However, Aaron soon uncovered that John had pretended to speak to the landlord when their neighbour Marge (Pauline Daniels) came over to welcome them.
“It’s lovely to see the place being occupied again… Are you buying the place?” she asked Aaron.
Aaron replied: “No, my husband’s spoken to the owner about it but we’re just renting it for now,” with Marge adding: “The owner? Are you sure about that?”
She went on: “She died over a year ago. Granted, I didn’t go to the funeral but I know people who did… Anyway, welcome to the neighbourhood, it’s been lovely meeting you.”
When later confronted by Aaron, John explained that he did, in fact, own the cottage. However, he didn’t want to tell his husband as the property held too many memories of his mother passing away.
Now, several Emmerdale fans believe that John’s mum isn’t actually dead, with many suggesting that Marge could secretly be his real parent.
“There has to be a reason for introducing Marge as a random neighbour. Maybe she’s John’s real mum?” one person wrote on Reddit.
Another added: “Ooo love this theory,” while a third said: “I’d love it if Marge turned out to be John’s mum, the very much still alive owner of the cottage.”