Emmerdale confirms special episode details as Cain and Moira face a new crisis

Emmerdale airs another special episode focusing on Cain and Moira Dingle next week, as the couple’s marriage hits a new crisis point. The popular duo were recently reunited when Moira was released from jail, but there are emotional scenes ahead as Cain starts to doubt their future.

Next Wednesday’s episode (29 April) sees Cain struggle to open up about his ongoing fears surrounding his illness. Cain is due to undergo an important operation after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, but he’s anxious that the side-effects could impact the physical aspect of his relationship with Moira.

Dr Liam Cavanagh steps in to see if he can be a confidant for his friend, but he’s alarmed when Cain suggests that it might be better to cancel the surgery.

Meanwhile, Moira confides in her sister-in-law Chas about the fragile state of her relationship with Cain.

Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain, explained: “Liam comes round to see Cain on Moira’s advice. Cain has gone a bit quiet again, so Liam tries to coax it out of him. Cain starts saying: ‘What if I don’t have the operation? That would be a great thing because then things just stay the same’.

“We’re putting this story under the microscope and trying to show all the things that men have to deal with when they’ve got this illness. There are huge life-changing repercussions you can have when you undergo these operations, such as erectile dysfunction or you could be incontinent.

“Coming out of the operation, you don’t know whether there’s going to be a big change for you. So that’s where Cain is at with his head.”

He continued: “Cain suggests that he could not have the operation and just live with the cancer. Liam points out that could kill him, but Cain says: ‘I’d rather live the life that I’ve already got, than live a life that’s changed’.

“He feels that it’s going to change his relationship. What he talks about with Liam is that Moira likes sex, a lot. We’ve not shied away from these things, because these are really important issues.”

When Cain and Moira come face-to-face again after their separate conversations, they realise that it’s time for an honest chat.

Sadly, there are more challenges to come, as Cain even wonders whether they should call it a day…

Jeff added: “Cain’s in a really bad place. He asks whether they can get through this and Moira says that she doesn’t know. He goes: ‘Right, I think we better split up then!’ Then they have a big conversation about it.

“But fundamentally – underpinning all this adversity they’re facing – this is a love story. It’s how these two people come through it or don’t come through it. It’s the sacrifices that they’re making to hold on to what they’ve got.”

Sharing her take, Natalie J Robb – who plays Moira – was also tight-lipped on whether the troubled Dingle couple can make things work.

Natalie explained: “In Moira’s head, she thinks that if the physical side of their relationship goes away, she’s in love with Cain and that’s not going to change. She’s trying to say to him: ‘We can be creative, there’s other things we can do to keep that going along’.

“But deep down she’s saying these things and then going: ‘Do I actually believe that?’ Because it’s a big part of them as well. They don’t know how they’re actually going to feel at the time, if it does come to that.

“It’s good – it’s as honest as you’d expect to see in a relationship and that’s what’s nice. They’re showing you a marriage where this couple are trying to get through something. Rather than flying off the handle and doing things that are stupid, they’re trying to navigate their way through it.

“They both don’t know the answers, but they’re trying to deal with things as they go. They don’t really know what the outcomes are going to be yet. A lot of it is hypothetical.”