When Nate's body will be found in Emmerdale as Moira confirms the lake will be dredged

Nate's body is about to resurface... along with John's secrets
Joel Harley

A horrified John Sugden learned that the lake is set to be dredged in tonight’s Emmerdale (Friday, May 23) – meaning that Nate’s body won’t be staying hidden for much longer.

This came as Belle returned from the Shetland Isles. Armed with the news that Nate had never turned up for his new job, she was determined to report Nate as a missing person. John’s pre-wedding good mood soon turned to panic as he learned what Belle had planned.

John stops Belle from ringing the police
Sneaky John stopped Belle from calling the police(Credit: ITV)

John talked Belle out of calling the police

John managed to talk Belle around with Tracy’s help. He suggested to her that maybe Nate didn’t want to be found – and perhaps Frankie would be better off without a father. After all, he’d turned out just fine, so why wouldn’t she?

Learning of Belle’s plan to report Nate as missing, he took her to see Tracy. The poison dripped in her ear, Tracy was having none of it, and begged Belle to leave Nate under whatever rock he might be hiding. Given food for thought, Belle backed off and agreed to get back to wedding planning… for now.

Later, at The Woolpack, John celebrated a job well done. However, there was worse news to come. Just as he was leaving, Moira shared the news that the water company plan on dredging the lake tomorrow. Cut to another shot of the lake, where Nate floats under the surface.

But when exactly will Nate’s body resurface? And what will this mean for the wedding?

John looks panicked on Emmerdale
Will John manage to tie the knot? (Credit: ITV)

Water company to dredge up Nate’s body in Emmerdale spoilers for next week

News of the dredging continues to hang over John and Aaron’s wedding in Emmerdale spoilers next week. As John suffers a series of pre-wedding nightmares, his many secrets come back to haunt him.

“We know that Nate’s body is still in that lake,” teased Emmerdale boss Laura Shaw. “And I can reveal Nate is not going to stay in the bottom of that lake forever. So when John finds out the lake is being dredged and he knows the body is going to come up, will he make it to his vows? Is he going to be arrested?

Meanwhile, the mysterious Aidan Moore also shows signs of life, having awakened from his coma last week. Will Aidan come to his senses in time to crash the wedding?

What happened in Emmerdale tonight (Friday, May 23)

Elsewhere in tonight's episode, Sarah continued to feel alone as her family attempted to process the news of Debbie's move to Australia. With Charity still raging, Sarah had no-one to confide in, and felt increasingly scared over her biopsy results.

Meanwhile, Clemmie took action against Joe, and Mack and Ross attempted to secure more supplies for their latest scheme.

Here's everything else that happened in Emmerdale tonight.

Sarah felt isolated

Charity was still in a bad mood over Debbie's move, while Sarah stressed in secret about the results of yesterday's biopsy. As the only person aware of her IVF plans, Vanessa dropped by to see how Sarah was doing in the wake of the Debbie news.

She soon noticed that Sarah was feeling emotional, and assumed it was about the IVF results, encouraging her to talk to Charity before scarpering again.

Outside, she bumped into Kammy, who was clearly avoiding her. Her attempts to talk to him failed, and she continued on her way as the loneliest teenager in the village. Talk turned to Debbie (again) when she bumped into Chas, leaving Sarah by the wayside as everyone gossiped about her mum.

Back at home, she'd just finished calling to see whether the biopsy results were ready when Charity walked in. Charity soon put her foot in it as she ranted about Debbie, leaving Sarah feeling like one of the 'pieces' Charity had been left to pick up in the wake of her exit.

Done with her family, Sarah stormed off, still bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Clemmie took action against Joe

With Lucas at football practice in his shiny new boots, Joe continued in his concerted effort to get Clemmie back on side.

She wasn't the only one he was trying to win over, and he told Dawn how he missed having fun with her. His sweet-talking was clearly having an effect, although she continued to insist that she couldn't be bought.

With Joe and Dawn distracted, Clemmie snuck downstairs where made a call on one of the adults' phones - telling whoever was on the other end of the line that she was scared of her mum's new boyfriend. Social services, is that you?

Mack and Ross

In the barn, Mack and Ross tended to their little cannabis farm. Hinting that they had space for a lot more plants, Ross was deflated when Lewis slammed his attempts at horticulture so far - utilising the wrong kind of compost to bed the plants in. What a dope! Dope, geddit.

Regardless, Ross continued in his bid for more plants, claiming that he needed them for Ryan and his cerebral palsy.

Later, the brothers shared lunch in The Hide, where Lewis had another delivery - handing over a packet of gummies. Not the plants, then, but Ross had another plan - he and Mack were going to take the plants anyway. Is Ross about to betray his little brother?

Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale in 2025? A complete guide to departures, returns and new arrivals in the Dales

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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