Emmerdale’s Moira plots revenge on evil Joe Tate as farm’s future ‘revealed’
Emmerdale's Moira Dingle actress Natalie Robb has hinted her character could be forced to leave her beloved farm for good after years, but she may get revenge on Joe Tate
It could be the end of an era on Emmerdale next week(Image: ITV)
It could be the end of an era on Emmerdale next week, as actress Natalie Robb warns the Dingles could lose Butlers Farm for good.
Natalie’s character Moira moved into the farm with the Barton family back in 2009. During her time at the farm Moria has been widowed, lost her daughter Holly to drug addiction and battled a brain tumour.
Her latest ordeal has seen her wrongly imprisoned for the murders of Celia Daniels and Anya Berisha, while her husband Cain secretly battles advanced prostate cancer. With the truth set to come out, Natalie, 51, fears it could be time for Moira and her family to leave the farm behind.
“Her main focus is to get Cain back to his health,” says Natalie. “The pressure has to be taken off him in order for him to focus properly on his illness.” Moira is in jail after being set up by villain Joe Tate, who allowed her to be framed for villain Celia’s crimes including dodgy invoices, drug dealing and human trafficking. The cops’ case got even stronger when the bodies of Celia and Anya were found on Moira’s land.
Emmerdale’s Moira Dingle actress Natalie Robb has hinted her character could be forced to leave her beloved farm (Image: ITV)
DNA evidence, planted in Anya’s grave by Celia before her own demise, linked Moira to the crime, and the police charged her. Throughout the ordeal, Cain has hidden his cancer diagnosis from his wife, but a moment next week sees him finally open up. “She’s in shock and feels like her whole world has fallen apart,” says Natalie. “She worries about the impact it’s going to have on the family. She’s totally helpless and wishes she can be there for him.”
As Joe (Ned Porteous) continues to try and convince Cain and Moira to hand over the farm, Moira is adamant that Cain needs to reveal his illness to his family. “They need to know, especially the boys,” says Natalie. “It worries her that they’re all left in the dark. She can’t help him but she doesn’t want him to do it alone. It’s easier in a situation like this to have the support you need from people around you, and so that they understand the situation.”
Moira is also prepared to deal with Joe for once and for all. “Joe is up to his old antics again, and he’s turned out to be quite a nasty character,” says Natalie. “He is playing a lot of games with Cain and it gets to the point where Moira has had enough, and she is going to come up with some kind of plan to deal with him.”
Joe (Ned Porteous) continues to try and convince Cain and Moira to hand over the farm(Image: ITV)
It leads to a rather unexpected prison visit from Kim Tate (Claire King). “Moira doesn’t know what Kim wants,” says Natalie. “She has an idea it may have something to do with the farm, or mainly wanting to speak about Joe. Kim is empathetic with her and realises the predicament they’re in.”
So could the two women come to an agreement? “Kim doesn’t like Joe’s tactics,” says Natalie. “He’s getting caught out a lot of the time, and the things he does bring Kim down with him. It’s not how she operates. Kim would cross Moira, but she wouldn’t go out of her way to be vengeful. What comes out of the meeting could determine what happens with the future of Dingles and the farm.”
Natalie’s hopeful it will pave the way for more scenes for Moira and Kim. “As hard as it is for Moira speaking with her there is that underlying mutual respect which I hope is something that comes in the future,” says Natalie. “I really enjoy working with Claire.”
Cain also visits Moira next week, with the characters featuring in one of the longest scenes actors Natalie and Jeff have ever filmed on the soap, as Cain reveals his diagnosis for the first time. “That scene was over 12 minutes long,” says Natalie. “We didn’t forget our lines or anything, we just did it. When you face a scene that long you can be a bit daunted if it’s not written well or for the characters.
“It can be difficult to learn. In this case I read it a few more times and I could already hear Cain’s voice. On the day, we were nervous which is great to still get those feelings because we treated it with respect. You can feel all the emotions. I thought Jeff was great in that scene.”
Natalie is hopeful the storyline will raise awareness for prostate cancer, and reveals her life has been touched by it too. “I’m sure it will raise awareness and I’m sure Jeff is doing lots of things himself privately to raise awareness,” says Natalie. “It’s devastating the effect it can have on people.
A good friend of mine is going through something similar right now and it’s not nice. The side effects are not great. He’s stage three. He’s around the same age as Jeff. You just do not know, and it’s why it is important to always have these check-ups.”
