Jeff Hordley is nearing the end of another year in the role of Cain Dingle and it's fair to say its been a busy one. The Emmerdale actor has been back at the forefront of the action, particularly in recent months, as his character found himself behind bars.
Cain has always been the bad boy of the ITV soap but had appeared to mellow in more recent years with his wife Moira and his sons Kyle and Isaac. However, fans were gobsmacked when it appeared Cain had finally killed after all this time.
Fans were initially led to believe that the character, played by Jeff Hordley, had killed his former enemy after discovering his affair with his sister, Chas, while attending his mother's wake. Already grief-stricken, Cain used Chas' secret phone to lure Al to a barn where he threatened him with a shotgun.
In a scuffle for the gun, a shot rang out and the next viewers saw was Cain standing over Al's lifeless body when Kerry Wyatt arrived and phoned the police.
But it was later revealed that 10-year-old Kyle, played by Huey Quinn, was the one who really shot Al when the panicked youngster caught the pair fighting and feared for his dad. Cain has since pleaded guilty to the murder and is waiting for his sentence.
However, in another twist to the tale, Cain was reunited with his long-lost brother, Caleb, who he'd actually known all about for the past 30 years. And on Boxing Day, viewers were transported back to 1991 where the story behind Caleb and Cain was uncovered.
But initially, Jeff, who has played Cain for the best part of 20 years, did have reservations about the storyline. Or at least until he found out that it was William Ash who would be taking on the role of Caleb.
"Initially, I'll be honest, I thought, 'they're bringing in a younger Dingle? What are they doing that for? Are they trying to replace me?' as you always get a little bit protective over your character and you're bringing in a similar character," he revealed to the Manchester Evening News.
However, he did admit: "But when I found out it was Will I was like, 'this is great'. It's the best thing that could have happened. It feels like Caleb has been here for a long time. The character's written so well and he's got a charm and Will brings that across really beautifully and Cain does have a connection with him. You can see he doesn't like him but he also finds something about him he wants to connect with."
Cain actually first arrived in the village in 2000 to attend the funeral of his late cousin Butch. And in the 22-years he has been on-screen, the Emmerdale hardman has been through it all - from kidnap and arson to discovering his uncle was his dad and having a child, Debbie, with his cousin Charity.
Jeff, who was born in Oldham, attended North Chadderton Comprehensive, before he went on to gain a degree in Theatre Arts (Acting) from Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre in 1997. But before finishing up his degree, in 1996, Jeff was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.
The jobbing actor at the time had been suffering from stomach cramps and diarrhoea for six years when he got the news. Speaking to the Express, Jeff recalled: "Even though I tried to avoid foods that upset my digestive system, such as coffee and Chinese takeaways, I was still sick and tired and I kept losing weight.
"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." After several hospital tests, Jeff was given the news he had somewhat been fearing.
"When I was just nine, my mum had died from the very same illness back in 1979," Jeff added. "My reaction was, ‘Am I going to die too?'" However, the then 26-year-old was reassured by doctors that his mother's death had been caused by complications in surgery.
The Express reports that Jeff had an operation to remove part of the large bowel and was put on medication to manage the chronic illness but suffered a relapse several years later. In 2002, Jeff collapsed at a theatre, hemorrhaging blood. However, he soon recovered but made changes to his lifestyle and in 2009, Jeff became an ambassador for Chron's and Colitis UK.
Also away from his on-screen role, fans may know that Jeff, 52, is married to Emmerdale co-star Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona Goskirk. The couple first met in college in 1994, before tying the knot in 2003.
Jeff and Zoe, 48, share two children together, daughter Violet who was born in 2005, and son Stan who was born in 2008. But the pair rarely show their private life on social media nor in interviews and they don't often even work together.
Jeff has previously told Soaplife: "We don't film at the same time so we can share the childcare. I don't think we'll ever have a storyline together – Cain and Rhona are too different.
"Cain thinks Rhona's a bit of a snobby cow. For me and Zoe, it works well." However, fans did go wild back in December 2021 when the pair finally shared a rare scene together and they have both been in at least the same room on the Yorkshire set such as when Rhona married Marlon earlier this year.
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