The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.
Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) was involved in a very deadly showdown with John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) in August in Emmerdale, and it left fans wondering if we’d ever see him again.
We revealed the news about Mack at the start of last month.
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 this time it’s not looking so good!
‘What the horrific turn of events 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.’
Let’s take a look at what’s happened ever since it was confirmed that Mack survived the attack.
What happened to Mackenzie Boyd in Emmerdale?
In August, Mackenzie discovered the truth about John and his murderous ways. He was then shot with a bow and arrow, and John broke his ankle with a giant boulder.
In some dark scenes that aired on ITV1 several weeks ago, Mack’s fate was revealed.
John arrived outside the entrance to an underground bunker. He went inside and moved a blanket, ultimately revealing Mackenzie’s body.
Mack grumbled, which was enough confirmation for us to learn that he had survived being shot.
He survived that, and amazingly was kept alive following a failed escape plan earlier this month.
What’s happened in Emmerdale this month?
Mackenzie managed to escape the bunker due to the fact John had dropped a pocket screwdriver.
He was able to free himself from the brick he was chained to and, in time, made it above ground.
While this was going on, John was speaking to Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) via the mental health helpline. John told Paddy about his brother returning on his wedding day and kissing his now husband.
He didn’t mention any names, but the clues dropped allowed Paddy to work out who he was talking to.
He then shared his concerns to Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), fearing John was about to put himself in danger.
In reality, things were a lot worse than Paddy had thought. In the woods, John was racing to find Mack after discovering that he had escaped.
This allowed Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) to try and leave the cottage John had been keeping him in. He had been drugged by John, but also managed to end up in the woods.
Aaron suffered a seizure and was then found by John. As he tended to his husband, John failed to spot Mack exiting the woods.
He ended up on a road, and believed for a very small moment that his nightmare was about to end.
Sadly, John’s van pulled up. He got out of the vehicle with an axe in his hand, but the episode ended before we could see what happened next.
In subsequent episodes, Emmerdale confirmed both Aaron and John’s fates after they fell from a gorge when John tried to frame Robert for their murders.
With both characters getting rushed to hospital and the cottage empty, and Mackenzie was more alone than ever before. We saw him crying as he called for help, but no one was around.
Is Mack dead?
At the moment, no.
However, things aren’t looking good for him.
When Aaron escaped the cottage and went in search of Mack, John was with him underground.
He explained that he has no intention of murdering Mackenzie, but had come up with a plan about what to do next.
John handed Mack a syringe and told him if he wants to end this misery, he can inject himself with the drug.
Because John had no plan to visit Mack after this meeting, it left him with two choices – end his own life, or suffer underground and cling to a sliver of hope that he might be found.
Fortunately for Mack, help may be just around the corner, as tonight’s episode saw Aaron attempt to tell his visitors that Mack was being held by John, after surviving John’s attempt to kill and silence him in the hospital.
A picture released last week confirms that Mackenzie will still be in the bunker tomorrow. The caption reads: ‘A shadow of his former self, Mackenzie hallucinates Charity after injecting himself with the syringe John left for him in the bunker’.
Will Aaron’s family make sense of his warning and find Mack in time to save him?
This article was originally published in August 2025.
