Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) is being eaten alive by the guilt that he cheated on Emmerdale’s Moira (Natalie J Robb) while she was having brain surgery. There’s only one way this will go.
He’s not been handling the guilt well at all, neither has Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly), and between the pair of them it’s clear this dirty little secret is making its way to the surface.
Cain’s being torn apart inside by the betrayal, especially as Moira’s hospital stay was elongated by an infection. But now she’s home, the guilt is further compounded when Ruby and Caleb Miligan (William Ash) come to Butlers, and Cain reacts.
Actor Jeff gave Metro some sneaky little insights into what’s going on in Cain’s brain.
‘Cain, very quickly, makes up an excuse that he’s got to go and look at a car that’s somewhere else in the country, just to get out of the situation of being in the same room as Ruby, Moira and Caleb,’ he reveals. ‘He just goes and sleeps in his van for the night. He is trying to avoid any confrontation because he’s feeling so guilty about the situation and what he’s done.’
So, Cain is handling his emotions in the way he knows best, by not handling them at all. With Jeff describing Cain’s perception of Moira as ‘volatile’, the last thing he wants to go and do is let it all slip.
What he doesn’t realise is that Moira is selflessly planning to throw him a surprise birthday party, despite still recovering, and she has her pathology results due in imminently.
But with Cain Awol, Moira is starting to fret that she’ll have to get her results alone. She confides her worries in Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) but assures herself that Cain will be back. So sure she is, she sends Matty away.
Her appointment rolls around and she tries to delay, but she can only hold off for so long. Moira tries to get hold of Cain, but he doesn’t answer his phone, and she realises she’ll have to go ahead with the appointment without him
As it happens, Cain is trying desperately to get home, but Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) has gone and blocked him in. He gets Moira’s desperate final voicemail and is instantly triggered. As his aggression rises, Jai calls PC Swirling, and unstable Cain lets his agitation get the better of him. Before he knows it, he’s being arrested.
Cain is horrified at abandoning his wife in her hour of need and appeals to Swirling’s better nature to let him speak to Moira privately.
Moira is shaken to hear Cain that he’s been arrested, and in his heightened emotional state she tells him everything is fine. But that’s far from the truth, she’s just been told she needs radiotherapy.
Cain isn’t overly enthused that he is let off on a warning, and instead heads straight to the allotment where he proceeds to get drunk.
Jeff explains: ‘He can’t handle the situation, so he’s masking it and trying to push it down somewhere else by drinking or avoiding situations’.
Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) is there to support him and makes sure his pal gets home. Moira is furious when Cain comes through the door and in her frustration, reveals the work she’s put into organising a surprise party.
This guilt is too much for Cain and he makes a huge decision – he’s going to confess to Moira that he slept with Ruby. How will ‘volatile’ Moira react?
