John killed Nate - but why?
News John's Secret Life Nate Robinson

All the details of Nate Robinson’s death explored as fans express major confusion over why John killed him

We’re bamboozled about why John did what he did!

Kerry Barrett

ByKerry Barrett

29th April 2025, 18:00

Nate Robinson’s death has been making Emmerdale viewers scratch their heads for months.

First we were all worried about what exactly had happened to him. We were convinced he hadn’t just run off to Shetland without a backwards glance. Many fans thought he’d been killed in the barn explosion though when it turned out not to be the case, we were all still sure Nate Robinson’s death was certain.

We had to wait ages to be proved right when Any fell into the icy lake after the limo crash on Valentine’s Day.

As she plunged into the freezing water, she spotted Nate’s dead body, complete with the friendship bracelet daughter Frankie had made him.

Amy did manage to say Nate’s name to husband Matty before she died, but Matty doesn’t seem to remember (to be fair, he’s had a lot on his mind!).

Nate Robinson's body floats back down into the water and we can see the distinctive bracelet (Credit: ITV)
Nate’s body is in the lake but how long will it stay there? (Credit: ITV)

Nate’s really dead!

Viewers were thrilled that their theories had been correct – though everyone was sad that Nate really had been killed, of course.

And we had to wait a bit longer to find out how it had all happened. A flashback to John’s story revealed that HE was responsible for doing away with poor Nate.

The body we’d seen being tipped into water from a bridge in the new year flashforward (does it still count as a flashforward if it’s a flashforward to a flashback?!) was Nate. Though fans were also confused that the lake didn’t seem to have a bridge when the limo crashed.

John injects a pained Nate with a syringe on Emmerdale
It was John who killed Nate… but it was sort of accidental (Credit: ITV)

What happened to Nate Robinson?

It turned out that on the day Nate had planned to leave Emmerdale forever, he’d crossed paths with John Sugden.

At the time we saw him telling John he was off, because Emmerdale was toxic. He’d been in a fight with his dad, Cain, and he wanted to go.

But in the flashforward we saw a battered Nate with John, outside the barn where Moira and Ruby were engaged in a dramatic showdown.

John commented that Cain had a fist on him, and said he had something to help.

John prepared an injection in the back of his van. He went back to Nate, who said he was fine, and jabbed him in the side of his neck, making Nate slump down in front of the van.

Nate was still breathing as John chatted away to him – but only just. And before John could help, he fell lifeless to the ground.

John has Nate's phone in Emmerdale
John has got Nate’s phone – will that be his undoing? (Credit: ITV)

We’re confused about Nate Robinson’s death!

With the reveal that John had killed Nate, we thought our questions had all be answered.

Except, they hadn’t been really. And viewers are still baffled about what exactly went on that day. We know John has a hero complex, where he feels the compulsion to hurt people and then save them. We saw him do it with Jacob when he swapped coffees and the rescued Jacob from the allergic reaction he suffered as a result. And we watched him whack Liam over the head, only to save his life shortly afterwards.

But Nate was already injured. John could have saved him and taken the praise for it without making him worse.

AND Nate saw what John did to him – he knew he’d been injected. So what was John planning to do when Nate regained consciousness?

The fans are baffled!

We’re not the only people to be confused about all this.

The Emmerdale viewers are scratching their heads, too.

“Nate was badly beaten from Cain, so why did John inject him?” one viewer asked. While another was curious about what exactly John was injecting Nate with, and why.

Us too!

While others confessed they just didn’t have a clue what was going on.

“Someone explain this nonsense PLEASE!” begged one bamboozled fan.

 

 

While we’re relieved we’re not the only ones confused by this storyline, we still want to know the details as soon as we can.

Will John’s motive for killing Nate be revealed? And will it explain everything, or leave us even more confused?!

Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.

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