Is Cain Dingle leaving Emmerdale? Latest after character’s cancer news | Soaps

To say that Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) has had a hellish start to 2026 is a bit of an understatement.

The beloved character was told at the start of January that a lump discovered inside of him needed to be tested for cancer.

Waiting for the results was stressful enough for Cain and Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb), but matters were made even worse for them when Celia Daniels and Ray Walters’ (Jaye Griffiths and Joe Absolom) reign over the village came to an end.

It’s been a lot, and we’re only in February! Here’s a recap on what Cain has been through so far.

What has happened to Cain and Moira so far this year?

Following his hospital trip, Cain returned home with Moira and faced an agonising wait for the results of his cancer test.

Focus then turned to Moira, who found herself getting arrested for having ID cards in her home, which suggested she had been helping Celia with her modern slavery operation. Moira protested her innocence but as she was unable to explain how the cards got in her house, and she also had history of working with Celia from a farming perspective, she didn’t exactly look innocent.

As this was happening, Ruby Miligan (Beth Cordingly) had learnt about refugee Anya potentially being dead. She managed to find her burial spot and called the police, not realising she was on Moira’s farmland.

To her horror, Ruby watched the police pull Anya’s body out of the ground, and someone else’s.

Moira was immediately arrested for double murder, as the other body turned out to be Celia’s.

Due to the fact Moira cannot prove she is innocent, she is still in prison, and facing the possibility she may be sentenced for crimes she did not commit.

With Moira behind bars, Cain has been tasked with looking after the farm, his garage and ensuring their two sons are cared for. It’s a lot for anyone, but Cain is also hiding a secret about his health that has increased is stress levels tenfold.

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A couple of days ago, Cain went to the hospital on his own and discovered that he does have prostate cancer. With Moira in prison, he hasn’t been able to tell her the development, believing that she has enough on her plate.

It means that Cain now feels as though he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) both know about the diagnosis but with Cain not really opening up to either of them, the pressure he’s under feels extreme.

Is Cain Dingle leaving Emmerdale?

At the moment, there hasn’t been any confirmation stating Jeff Hordley is leaving his role as Cain Dingle. It gives us hope that Cain will survive his cancer journey, but we know that anything is possible when it comes to soapland.

The prostate cancer storyline was, Jeff told us, conceived as ‘The story of a man who doesn’t normally talk about his feelings. It’s bad enough having cancer but the possible side effects of this particular illness are really damaging to males and their egos. Having to talk about that and confront it is, I think, where we want to go down.’ 

He insisted that, alongside this, the entire situation is ‘a big love story’ between Moira and Cain. 

‘That was underpinning all this. How they get all these adverse challenges and how they deal with them – Moira being inside prison, Cain being told he’s got this illness and how bad it is.’ 

When asked whether their current ordeals could break Cain and Moira’s marriage apart or make them stronger, Jeff said he genuinely didn’t know – and it could go either way.  

‘I think that’s what’s good about this story, for Cain and Moira,’ he reflected. ‘There’s a series of obstacles and hurdles that lay in front of them that I think are really going to challenge them as a couple.

‘As to whether it makes or breaks them, I don’t think I even know just yet but it’s going to be really interesting to see.’ 

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