Emmerdale fans were left screaming at the TV last night after witnessing a tragic twist involving Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb).

Yesterday, a paranoid John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) decided to spike Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) with some drugged whisky after learning that he slept with Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley).

His plan was to make his husband completely dependable on him. He prepared the concoction in an underground bunker, where he was holding Mack hostage.

Due to the fact John was so erratic, he failed to spot that he had dropped a pocket screwdriver as he left. Mackenzie noticed the item, and battled through his pain as he reached for it.

Mack picked it up and with time, was able to free himself from the wall he was chained to. As he staggered to the entrance, John was watching Aaron, who had drunk a lot of the whisky and was feeling terrible.

John then received a notification on his phone from the trap camera he had set up near the bunker. He checked the footage and to his horror, Mack was above ground.

John raced to the woods to try and stop Mack from escaping, failing to consider what Aaron would do next. Being alone allowed Aaron to leave the cottage and head through the woods. He was in an incredibly confused state, but could hear Mack screaming for his name, and also found the door to the bunker.

Aaron collapsed as a result of the drugged booze and suffered a seizure. Mack told John to go and save Aaron, and it was in this moment where he was able to crawl through the trees and find a main road.

Mack pulled himself along the land, believing his nightmare was about to come to an end. He then fell to the floor as a van approached. He explained that his friend needed help, but Mackenzie was telling the wrong person.

He was so close to being free, but the person in the van was John. He had an axe in his hand, making it clear this ordeal was not over for Mackenzie.

Honestly, we’re still not over it.

Metro Soap readers had a lot to say on the scenes that saw Mack captured by John again.

On our Facebook page, Kathleen Gallagher said: ‘Fantastic episode of Emmerdale tonight it had me on the edge of my seat screaming at the TV to let Mack get away while John was busy with Aaron…nerve tingling stuff! All those people joining the dots then doing absolutely nothing! If only Paddy had rung the Police and sent them to the new cottage…’

Another user added: ‘You just knew everything that was gonna happen second by second I was screaming at the tv!!!’.

Noeleen praised the stars involved and posted: ‘Brilliant tonight, superb acting.’ Sue Thompson echoed this and put: ‘Edge of your seat drama great acting from all 3.’

The instalment, written by Liam Johnson and directed by Matt Hilton, was heavily praised by fans on X as well.

An account called Annie Sugden wrote: ‘Can we applaud the director of tonight’s #emmerdale episode. The writer too who wrote it. The cinematic way it has been shot. The eerie music, the camera work was so intense. That was like watching an intense thriller movie, and its not over yet..yikes! Well done.’

Hoping that Mack will survive, this user of X said: ‘Why is Paddy not out there looking? Please please please don’t kill off Mack! Please please please end this storyline.’

Mack’s fate is topic of conversation for those who have already watched tonight’s episode, as he doesn’t feature at all.

The instalment, now available on ITVX, focuses on Aaron as he attempts to recover from the drugging.

John remains determined to look after Aaron and encourages him to stay in bed all day. However, Aaron is troubled due to the flashbacks he suffers, and can’t say for certain if he was actually in the woods, or if he imagined it.

With time though, the drugs begin to wear off and Aaron is able to think the tiniest bit clearer.

He ends up at the front door and recalls hitting his head and smashing his watch. His memory returning, Aaron doesn’t make it obvious that he’s feeling better, knowing he could get a step ahead if John’s in the dark.

As he heads for a shower, Aaron searches through John’s belongings. He finds a phone and when he switches it on, he realises it belongs to Mack.

We then hear Mack’s cries again, allowing Aaron to realise everything he remembered throughout the day was absolutely real.

But with Mack nowhere to be seen at the moment, we’ll have to wait until Monday now for the drama to continue, and to hopefully discover if the beloved character is alive.