Emmerdale left the whole UK “heartbroken” when the previous episode ended with a haunting scene: John Sugden, a dangerous killer, suddenly hugged his husband – Aaron Dingle – and dragged them both down a steep cliff.

The scene ended with the image of both lying motionless at the bottom of the gorge, covered in blood.

ITV even made the audience wait another day to air the next episode, turning the waiting time into torture.

In episode 10/9, everything opened with the scene of Robert Sugden – John’s brother, also Aaron’s ex-lover – frantically rushing down the gorge.

While calling the emergency services, Robert screamed Aaron’s name in despair. He held Aaron in his arms, hugged him tightly and sobbed: “I love you, please don’t leave me!”. This was the moment that made social media explode, when a series of viewers shared that they couldn’t hold back their tears.

While Robert was struggling to call for help, John suddenly opened his eyes. But instead of being conscious, he only managed to wiggle weakly, then collapsed immediately. The situation became even more tense: both of them were hovering between life and death.

The moment the paramedic ran over, put Aaron down and announced: “There is no pulse”. The entire audience felt their hearts suffocated. Robert almost went crazy, shouting loudly for them to continue CPR. After a long few seconds, a weak heartbeat sounded, Aaron was temporarily saved. But the price was too high: he fell into a state of brain injury, had to be transferred straight to the operating table.

Meanwhile, John, although seriously injured, still had hope of survival. This did not bring any comfort – on the contrary, it made the audience shudder: how many more tragedies would a person who could murder her husband create when he woke up?