Is Mack leaving Emmerdale, does he die and who is Ben? John Sugden twist explained

Mackenzie Boyd made the discovery that could change everything on Emmerdale on Wednesday. A twist involving killer John Sugden and newcomer Ben left him reeling - but does he die?

Reports suggest Mack, played by actor Lawrence Robb, will be leaving the show, killed off as John's next victim. The soap is remaining coy over this, but several clues appear to seal or tease Mack's future and whether he lives or dies.

It comes as Lawrence teased "tense" scenes when John finds out what Mack has uncovered, possibly paving the way for "bleak" episodes. Wednesday's cliffhanger confirmed the clue that spoilers had revealed Mack would find, and we learned just how significant it was.

READ MORE: Emmerdale fans predict devastating twist in John storyline after mysterious phone call

READ MORE: Emmerdale's John 'already knows about Robert and Aaron' after 'forgotten scene'

Mackenzie had been kicked out by wife Charity Dingle after their row amid the surrogacy storyline. With Charity distracted amid her secret DNA scandal, Mack ended up sharing his true thoughts about what was going on in their lives.

Charity was recently told she was pregnant after an embryo transfer, with her agreeing to be a surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah Sugden. But after sleeping with her ex Ross Barton, she now doesn't know if the baby is Sarah's or her own.

Meanwhile, unaware of the fling or the fact she kissed her other ex Vanessa Woodfield on the same night she slept with Ross, in complete turmoil after fearing the embryo transfer had failed, Mack lashed out over recent events. It ended with Mack leaving, after Charity booted him out, and he ended up in the path of killer John.

As Mack got into the secret killer's van waiting for John to join him, he found a scrap book which contained photos from John's army days. Mack was innocently snooping through the snaps, only to come across one of John with a very familiar face.

John was pictured alongside his "brother in arms" Ben, the very same Ben who was the removal man who collected Nate Robinson's belongings from his wife Tracy's home months earlier. Fans know that when this happened, Nate was already dead having been killed secretly by John.

So fans knew John orchestrated the collection, but what it wasn't revealed until Wednesday was that Ben and John were friends from the army. Ben was helping John cover his tracks by collecting the items, and this week he claimed the person he met with was Owen - the man framed for Nate's death by John.

Mack happened to be in the shop with Ben when he told the police Owen was the customer. So to see the photo of Ben with John told him everything he needed to know. No more spoilers have revealed what happens next but Mack's fate has possibly been revealed.

After Mack actor Lawrence confirmed tense scenes between Mack and John and with reports claiming he gets killed off, it's likely Thursday and Friday will explore the fallout of his discovery. New spoilers have also teased Mack is AWOL from next week, so it does seem, while not confirmed, that a grisly end could be confirmed for Mack this week.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads.