Emmerdale spoilers: Cain’s operation arrives – and he’s certain it’ll end him and Moira

Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) have long been Emmerdale’s strongest couple.

If your marriage can survive your wife cheating on you with your son, it can survive anything, right?

Acceptance isn’t Cain’s forte and accepting his prostate cancer diagnosis has not come easily to him. He needs an operation but his fear of what life will look like after the op is leaving him worried about the future ofhis marriage.

The operation was postponed after a tired Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) knocked him down with the car and left him too injured to go under the knife. Not only did this put Cain at further risk, it also gave him even longer to get inside his own head.

Moira’s return from prison should have seen him reassured and mentally stronger to cope with this curveball, but it’s only made things worse. Now he’s fixated on how much this surgery could change his marriage, convinced that without sex Moira will leave him.

Thankfully, ahead of the appointment, he started to open up about his fears to Moira. But as best pal Liam (Jonny McPherson) stepped in to give him a friendly ear, Cain confessed that he’s thinking of cancelling his op altogether.

Moira also confessed to Chas (Lucy Pargeter) that her once solid relationship is now rather rocky, and saying the words out loud just makes everything seem more real.

They’ve made it this far though, and Cain has managed to keep the op in place. He has a frank talk with Moira about what might change in their relationship. She reassures him that whatever is around the corner they’ll face it together.

But will Cain start to believe it?

Emmerdale has aired a special, intimate episode focused on Cain and Moira Dingle’s relationship as he made a tough decision amid his prostate cancer storyline. Tonight’s scenes saw Moira seek advice from Chas as she struggled to get through to her husband.

Turning up at the Woolpack, Moira told Chas she’d put her foot in her mouth with Cain, making it clear how much sex mattered to her in a relationship. Following her prison stint, it’s only natural that Moira wants to feel close to Cain again, but her words hit hard for him over the prospect of not being able to have sex following his surgery.

Chas reassured Moira she wasn’t being “horribly selfish” and encouraged her to talk to her brother. Meanwhile, Liam sensed Cain might be in need of someone to talk to and went to see him. Cain opened up over his operation reservations.

Cain told the GP he was more worried about the aftermath of the surgery than the operation, adding that his married life with Moira could “crash and burn”.

Resolute to give Moira what he thought she was looking for in their marriage, Cain told Liam he won’t have the operation to avoid risking becoming impotent. Liam made it clear he thought Cain’s decision made “no sense” and Cain threw him out.

Back at the Woolpack, Liam told Moira that Cain was “in a dark place” and was considering refusing the surgery. Moira rushed home to speak with Cain who, despite his wife’s insistences that sex was “only one part” of their relationship, suggested they end their marriage.

“We’re creative, we’ll get through it,” Moira offered, but Cain was adamant she’d soon stray if he couldn’t perform. That’s when their conversation escalated, with both bringing up their past affairs.

“You went with Nate!” Cain told Moira, who immediately hit back: “You slept with Ruby!”

As Cain wanted to cut the conversation short, a hurt Moira threatened that his pride could be the reason they’d eventually call it quits. “Cancer, we can cope with, but your pride and your twisted sense of self? That is the biggest problem we are facing here,” she told him. “And I’m warning you now, that’s what will break us. Nothing else!”

Once they cooled off, Cain and Moira cleared the air, with him apologising for what he’d said. “You’re right. I do push you away,” he admitted. “I’ll stop doing it. Try and deal with things better,” he added. Still, he said he wouldn’t do the operation.

“I don’t want our lives to change,” he told Moira, to which she replied: “Your life, you mean. ‘Cause mine certainly will if you’re dead.”

Their conversation hit a wall, as Cain decided to get some air and got the help of an unexpected character. Sitting by his dad Zak’s grave, Cain had a chat with Eric Pollard, who was pushing the pram with baby Leyla inside.

As Pollard sat next to him, Cain quizzed him about living with Parkinson’s disease.

“Does it scare you?” Cain asked. Pollard replied: “Not knowing what the future holds? Yeah, it’s terrifying.”

Pollard reminded him how much the Dingles “cherish” one another and that Cain would be taking care of baby Leyla for the both of them at some point.

“You’re a lucky man,” Pollard said before he headed off.

Pollard’s words cut through for a teary-eyed Cain, who then muttered to Zak’s grave: “Really? Sending me Eric?”

In the final scenes, Moira caught up with him and was relieved to hear that he would be having his operation — and she was shocked that he’d made up his mind after speaking with Pollard.

“Maybe the old rogue has his uses after all,” Cain said before he and Moira kissed.