Emmerdale wouldn’t be Emmerdale without the glowering, grunting embodiment of manliness that is Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) But a shock cancer diagnosis is set to turn his life upside down and leave the Dales’ resident tough guy a changed man…

Corriedale turned Cain’s world upside down. The epic soap-crossover placed the deadliest Dingle at the heart of a fiery car-crash. Fans were on the edge of their seats as the Emmerdale legend embarked on woodland chase after serial killer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth), the man responsible for the death of his son Nate Robinson (Jurrell Carter).

We gasped as there was a deadly struggle between the two bitter enemies, ending in Cain taking a shotgun blast to the chest like some kind of Yorkshire version of the Terminator. But the real blow came when he was admitted to hospital.

With his wife Moira Barton (Natalie J Robb) by his side, Cain was completely sideswiped when the doctor told him that they had found a mass which could be potentially cancerous. Now that Emmerdale have confirmed a huge prostate cancer story for the iconic character, actor Jeff Hordley reflects on his initial reaction to tackling the issue.

‘I was really excited by the challenge of doing something like this because I’ve never, in all my time at Emmerdale, been given… I think there was a brain aneurysm a few years ago but we didn’t go too deep into it, it was more used as a device to tell a story between Cain and Charity. This is the first real illness I’ve ever been given in this show so I am excited to be given this and it’s a real honour and a challenge for me to do this.’

Unfortunately, this is not the only problem Cain’s got on his plate. Although evil people trafficker Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) may be dead and buried, her last laugh was to frame Moira for her heinous crimes of keeping vulnerable people as forced labourers on Butler’s Farm.

The police were breathing down Moira’s neck, and seemed sceptical that she had nothing to do with Celia’s sinister side of the business. But they didn’t have anything concrete.

That is about to change when Moira Barton is charged with double murder.

In shocking scenes, the police raid Butler’s farm as a horrified Moira and Cain arrested and cuffed in front of their children, charged with killing Celia and Anya, a forced labourer who died due to the terrible working conditions. Jeff details Cain’s gut reaction to this horrendous development.

‘I think it’s one of total shock, really. It’s not something that they saw coming at all. (He tries) to protect them and get them out of the way so they don’t see it.’

While Cain is released without charge, Moira is not so lucky. One of the bodies was shrouded in Moira’s blanket, causing a raging Cain to refuse to return home without his wife. The ordeal culminates when DS Walsh reveals Moira’s DNA was found on the blanket Anya was buried in, and Moira is gobsmacked to be charged with both Celia and Anya’s murders.

In case that wasn’t dramatic enough, in a sick twist of fate (or maybe just because the Emmerdale writers are mean) Cain is diagnosed with prostate cancer on the same day.

Viewers will follow Cain’s heartbreaking journey to try and make sense of this life-changing news. Jeff gives us a sneak peek of what we can expect from this special episode, directed by Paul Copeland.

‘Paul’s a fantastic director, and what’s lovely about Emmerdale over the last few years in particular is that we’ve had these special standalone episodes. You think about John Middleton and the dementia storyline, the Mark Charnock one with the stroke. There’s been so many, but we now as a team, the writers and producers are thinking outside of the box and not necessarily telling the stories in the usual formats‘

‘So they came up with this idea where it’s about the camera being focused on him. Everybody else is in soft focus. You occasionally hear the thoughts in his head. Paul, being a big lover of Eastern European film and stuff like that, has been given an opportunity to shoot this in a different way and create something a bit more artistically outside of the Emmerdale box.

‘It was a really exciting episode to be part of. I’m not sure I want to watch myself for 22 minutes, just being the main focal point of the episode! But that said, I will be looking forward to seeing what Paul’s done with it, and if, indeed, it works. Which I’m sure it will.’

Cain’s consultant, Ms. Rhodes, confirms that Cain has aggressive, yet localised, prostate cancer. Overwhelmed by the diagnosis and the potential side effects of the recommended radical prostatectomy, Cain cuts the consultation short and bolts out.

With his wife facing the grim prospect of a future behind bars, the lone wolf of Emmerdale has never felt more alone. Instead of confiding in Moira, he keeps it to himself. Jeff explains Cain’s headspace. ‘He doesn’t feel he can tell anybody because the person he’d normally tell these things to would be Moira and she’s in prison. So he feels like he can’t really say this to anyone.’

Failing to process his diagnosis, Cain’s denial and rage cause him to clash with anyone unlucky enough to cross his path and he is keen to be left alone with his inner demons. Reaches breaking point, yelling at both his granddaughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) and his best mate Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) about his overwhelming burdens, unable to contain himself any longer. This is not the Cain we know and love, and according to Jeff – this is just the beginning.

‘I think it will change him. I think when something like this happens to you, your life suddenly has a different lens on it, a different filter on it. I think it will certainly take him into a different headspace. It’s definitely going to change him, for sure. I don’t think we’re going to have a return to the Cain of old, that’s for sure’