Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) is causing concern in Emmerdale as she begins fishing for information about a murder that took place two years ago. The newcomer arrived last week and immediately made an impact on fans through her kindness to Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).
Serena's arrival and connection with Charity
Serena was traveling through the area and needed to use the bathroom, but she startled Charity due to noise in the bushes. At the time, Charity had disappeared from the village, struggling under the weight of her secrets about Doctor Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) and baby Leyla. Serena approached Charity, who eventually realized this stranger meant no harm. The two women sat down, and Serena listened carefully as Charity opened up about everything that had been happening.
After their talk, Serena got in her car and headed to Emmerdale. She began connecting with Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and introduced herself to Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) and Claudette Anderson (Flo Wilson). Because no one in the village has met this Sugden before, conversation quickly turned to John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth), Robert Sugden's (Ryan Hawley) brother who took pleasure in endangering people.
Questions about John Sugden
Residents were curious whether Serena knew about everything John did while living in Emmerdale. Once Serena confirmed she was fully aware of John's reign, Sarah believed she was in town for gossip. Serena denied this, but upcoming episodes suggest otherwise as she digs for information about what happened to Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).
After a chat with Serena about Nate, Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) makes her distrust clear. Her brother Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) also told Charity that Serena cannot be trusted, largely because her last name is Sugden.
Are the siblings right to be worried?
Surely there isn't a perfectly innocent reason why Serena wants the lowdown on the man who was accidentally killed and then thrown into a lake? Nate Robinson disappeared from the village in autumn 2024. At the time, his loved ones believed he had left for a new job in Shetland. As time passed, Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) began to wonder why Nate hadn't contacted them. Prior to his disappearance, Nate's relationships with Tracy and Cain had suffered, and they knew he had reasons for not wanting to speak with them, but believed he'd stay in touch for his daughter Frankie.
In 2025, the truth about Nate's disappearance was confirmed. Viewers discovered that John Sugden had given Nate some medicine after a fight with Cain, but Nate had a bad reaction and died. John threw Nate's body in a nearby lake, which was eventually discovered. The fact that John was responsible for Nate's death wasn't revealed until mid-2025. John himself was killed at the start of this year in a poetic twist: his life ended the same way Nate's did—by having a drug injected into him, reacting badly, and dying.
