Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) will meet a grisly end in Emmerdale, with killer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) set to claim another victim.
John, as viewers know, has something of a hero complex, whereby he orchestrates situations by putting people’s lives in danger before swooping in last minute to play the saviour.
He has endangered the lives of various villagers including Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) and Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant), spiked Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and set Ella Forster (Paula Lane) up.
The killer’s biggest crime to date was killing Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter), who died before John could play the hero after he endangered his life.
In a bid to cover his tracks, John subsequently let GP surgery patient Owen Michaels die – and set him up to take the blame for Nate’s demise.
And he’s set to strike again, with Mack the unlucky next victim of the killer.
Fan-favourite Mack, a mainstay of the ITV soap for five years, previously suspected that there was more to John than meets the eye but the sinister medic subsequently won him over with his lies and manipulation.
However, things will take a shocking turn in upcoming scenes.
Metro has been aware of Mack’s fate for some time but decided to leave things as a surprise until closer to the time.
A source told us: ‘The John story has so many twists and turns to come and this will come as a genuine surprise to fans.
‘Mack has survived quite a lot over the years but his time is well and truly up this time.
‘What his exit does is set the stage for an exciting next stage to John’s saga later in the autumn that will leave fans quite literally on edge.’
Mack, as audiences know, has been struggling to get his head around Charity Dingle’s (Emma Atkins) decision to be a surrogate for granddaughter Sarah (Katie Hill), which has led to conflict aplenty for the clan at Jacob’s Fold.
Charity, meanwhile, shared a kiss with ex Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) this week – but whether or not Mack will find out about such a thing remains to be seen.
Mack made his debut five years ago when he turned up at Butlers as the long-lost younger sibling of Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb). He also swiftly embarked on a relationship with Charity, who was seeing Vanessa at the time of their one night stand.
In the years since, Mack has been at the centre of numerous stories, including a one night stand with Chloe Harris, which led to the birth of his son Reuben.
The storyline led to Charity and Mack splitting up but ultimately they found their way back to one another and have been happy in the years since, but it seems it could all be set to end in tragedy if John does in fact kill Mack.
Speaking of John, the murderer has been doing his utmost to keep a lid on his crimes but the unexpected comeback of Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) has proven a thorn in his side.
Robert, who was previously married to Aaron (Danny Miller), has made it his mission to expose John, knowing full well that he cannot be trusted.
As it stands, John currently has the upper hand as he possesses footage of Robert attacking him, which he will no doubt use as leverage when the situation calls for it.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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