Jeff Hordley has been on our screens as Cain Dingle on and off for more than two decades.
The 52-year-old first joined the ITV soap in 2000 and has been involved in a number of major storylines. Most recently, Cain was locked up after his son Kyle Winchester accidentally killed Al Chapman.
Not wanting to see him in prison, Cain took the fall. Luckily, his time behind bars was short lived and he was released soon after his long-lost brother arrived in the village.
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The Manchester-born star, who will celebrate his 53rd birthday on March 7, briefly left Emmerdale in 2006. At the time he said he had wanted to pursue other projects.
Fans were naturally gutted over his departure but got to see him star in a number of theatre productions such as Mother Goose, Animal Farm and The Caretaker. Jeff announced he would rejoin the Emmerdale cast in 2009 and has been causing trouble ever since.
For his role as Cain Dingle, he has been nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Actor three times. Below we take a look at his marriage to Emmerdale co-star Zoe Henry, his little-known talents and "back-up career".
Marriage to co-star
While the natural assumption here is that Jeff met his wife Zoe Henry on the Emmerdale set, it is actually not true. Jeff and Zoe first met at drama school nearly three decades ago.
Jeff previously revealed: "We met at drama school in 1994. I saw Zoe and realised she was the girl for me."
He then popped the question on the day Zoe won an award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. Their wedding was a small and intimate affair with just their closest family members and friends.
Jeff and Zoe have two children: daughter Violet, born in 2005, and son Stan, born in 2008. When their kids were still very young, Jeff's and Zoe's filming duties were at different times so they could take turns looking after their little ones.
Health issues
Jeff was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a condition that causes diarrhoea, stomach aches and cramps, in 1996. When receiving the diagnosis aged just 26, he feared he would die from it.
He previously told the Express: "When I was just nine, my mum had died from the very same illness back in 1979. My reaction was, ‘Am I going to die too?'"
However, doctors reassured him that his mother's death had been caused by complications in surgery. Jeff said even though he tried to avoid foods that upset his digestive system such as coffee and takeaways, he was still often sick and tired and kept losing weight.
He said: "I was a drama student in Manchester and sometimes I had to miss lectures because I was too tired. I even had to drop out of my final year plays."
Jeff became an ambassador for Crohn’s and Colitis UK in 2009 and has been raising awareness on behalf on the charity ever since. On the website, he admitted he had been worried it would end his on-screen career.
He said: "I was scared it would stop my acting career from taking off. Luckily it didn't.
"Following surgery, medication and diet control, I’ve been playing the role of Cain Dingle since 2000. I know it's embarrassing to talk about it, but even simple solutions like being near a bathroom at work can make such an improvement."
The actor has also had surgery to remove parts of his bowel and uses medication to manage the illness.
Green-fingered
Jeff and Zoe reportedly live in an idyllic cottage in the Yorkshire Dales where they have made a beautiful home for themselves, their two children and many pets. The couple also enjoys gardening and grow their own produce on their enormous allotment and inside their greenhouse.
Zoe previously said: "We have an allotment and it's so therapeutic to have your hands in the earth. We're mindful of what we eat, but watching our diet isn't about being on TV, it's more about general wellbeing, as Jeff has Crohn's disease."
'Back-up job'
While trying to launch his acting career, Jeff used to DJ in and around Manchester to generate a second income. The star still spends time nurturing his "back-up career", just in case.
Speaking to Lorraine last year about his gigs in Manchester and Charlton, he said: "It’s kind of soul, funk, reggae, old 60s stuff. It’s everything really but that has been my out-of-work acting job."
As ever, we'll continue to bring you the big Emmerdale news about what is happening in the village and away from it. You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
Emmerdale airs weekdays from 7.30pm on ITV1.
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