Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley’s life including chronic health condition amid Cain’s battle
Emmerdale's Cain Dingle star Jeff Hordley was diagnosed with a lifelong health condition in 1996.
Emmerdale icon Cain Dingle has been dealt another crushing blow as he continues to fight prostate cancer. The mechanic recently underwent an operation to remove the disease, which has left him incontinent and feeling isolated from his ‘normal’ life.
On Tuesday (June 16), Cain’s consultant explained that, although the surgery was successful, new tests had shown that it is highly likely the cancer has spread beyond the prostate. Cain and his wife, Moira (Natalie J Robb), were utterly devastated that he hadn’t received the all clear, and that further treatment would be required within the coming months. There’s also the chance that radiotherapy could leave him permanently incontinent.
Jeff Hordley was diagnoses with Crohn’s disease in 1996 (Image: Getty)
As Jeff Hordley gives a powerful performance as Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle, the actor faces a serious health condition in real life.
The 56-year-old soap star, who first appeared on the show in March 2000, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when he was 26, although he had first started experiencing symptoms at just 20.
As a former ambassador for Crohn’s & Colitis UK, Jeff has spoken candidly about his experience. In 2009, he told Express.co.uk that doctors initially believed he had irritable bowel syndrome. However, as his symptoms persisted and worsened, he pushed for further answers.
Jeff revealed: “Even though I tried to avoid foods that upset my digestive system, such as coffee and Chinese takeaways, I was still sick and tired, and I kept losing weight.”
According to the NHS, Crohn’s disease is a long-term condition where part of your gut becomes inflamed. There is currently no cure, but treatments can help prevent or manage symptoms.
Speaking on an episode of the Another Day Another Collar podcast, Jeff opened up to host Steve Mann about no longer taking medication for his Crohn’s disease, and how he uses his diet to help control symptoms.
Cain Dingle is currently fighting prostate cancer on the ITV soap (Image: ITV)
Jeff explained: “Crohn’s; no, I’m not anymore, but I was for years because I’ve had Crohn’s since I was 24, 25, and I’ve now managed to keep it under wraps because of diet.
“Certainly, like you were saying about, we eat very much seasonally; we eat from our allotment, from definitely June through to now. So that’s how I’ve managed to do it and exercise and things like that. I’ve managed to avoid any medication, which not every Crohn’s sufferer manages to do, but that’s the way I’ve managed it.”
Jeff recently shared that his soap plot inspired him to get a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test in real life.
Speaking to the Daily Express and others at an Emmerdale press event, he said: “I think it’s about us seeing through someone going through the journey of waiting, the ‘what ifs?’ over the side effects of surgery, and the things that men have to go through in these situations.
“You know and getting yourself tested. I’m 56 and I’ve been for a PSA test already because of this storyline. There’s other people in the company of a similar age to me who’ve gone, ‘I’m going to the doctors to get a PSA test’.”
Jeff Hordley is married to an Emmerdale co-star
In the summer of 2005, Jeff married Zoe Henry, who plays Rhona Goskirk on the ITV soap, at the medieval Hedingham Castle, near Sudbury, East Anglia, followed by a reception at the luxury Swan Hotel in Lavenham.
According to reports, the ceremony was attended by several Emmerdale stars, including Charity Dingel star Emma Atkins, and Charley Webb, who played Debbie Dingle.
The couple went on to welcome daughter Violet Ava, in 2005, and son Stan, in 2008. To support them in the early days of parenting, Emmerdale bosses ensured Cain and Rhona’s storylines were filmed at separate times, allowing them to share childcare duties.
In a previous interview with Lorraine, Zoe revealed: “We often do line learning together. This time, Jeff’s been amazing. He’s just taking the weight of what’s going on at home. Obviously, we’ve got two kids, two dogs, we’ve got an allotment and he’s just managing all of that. He’s about to get busy as I sort of quieten down so we’ll swap the baton then.”
Jeff Hordley is married to Emmerdale co-star Zoe Henry (Image: Getty)
Zoe and Jeff first crossed paths at drama school, and they swiftly formed a close bond. “We got together at drama school. We’ve been together 28 years,” Zoe revealed on Lorraine in 2022. She went on to say: “With the connection on set, we were together for 10 years before that as well. We got together in 1994, I believe.”
Jeff has also previously spoken candidly about his first encounter with Zoe, admitting it was love at first sight. He told Soaplife magazine in 2011: “We met at drama school in 1994. I saw Zoe and realised she was the girl for me. I made moves and, fortunately, she said yes on that occasion too.”
With their relationship flourishing, Jeff proposed to Zoe immediately following her Best Actress in a Leading Role triumph at the Manchester Evening News’s theatre awards in 2002.
He told the MEN: “I had been planning to propose for a some time and thought to myself: ‘If she wins today, I’ll do it today’. When she won, I leaped out of my seat in front of her.
“Then it dawned on me that her winning meant that I had to propose – and that’s when the nerves set in. Fortunately for me, she said yes.”
Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX