Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle is fighting prostate cancer on screen, but actor Jeff Hordley has his own real-life health battle since his mid-twenties.
Emmerdale legend Jeff Hordley was diagnosed with a health condition 30 years ago, which has no cure.
On the ITV soap, Cain Dingle has been dealt yet another devastating setback as he battles prostate cancer. The village mechanic recently went under the knife to have the disease removed, leaving him incontinent and feeling cut off from his everyday life.
On Tuesday (June 16), Cain’s consultant revealed that, while the operation had been a success, fresh tests indicated it was highly probable the cancer had spread beyond the prostate.
Cain and his wife Moira (Natalie J Robb) were left completely heartbroken upon learning he hadn’t been given the all clear, and that additional treatment would be necessary in the months ahead. There is also the possibility that radiotherapy could leave him permanently incontinent.
While Jeff Hordley delivers a compelling portrayal of Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle on screen, the actor is confronting a serious health battle of his own in real life.
The 56-year-old soap veteran, who made his first appearance on the programme in March 2000, received a Crohn’s disease diagnosis at the age of 26, having first noticed symptoms at just 20, reports the Express.
As a former ambassador for Crohn’s & Colitis UK, Jeff has spoken openly about his personal struggle. In 2009, he told Express.co.uk that medics initially thought he was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
Yet as his symptoms continued and deteriorated, he pushed for further investigation.
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.”
The NHS states that Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition causing inflammation in sections of the digestive system. While there’s no cure available, treatments can help control or reduce symptoms.
During an appearance on the Another Day Another Collar podcast, Jeff revealed to presenter Steve Mann that he’s stopped taking medication for his Crohn’s disease, instead managing symptoms through dietary changes.
Jeff said: “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.”
The actor recently disclosed that his soap storyline prompted him to undergo a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test in reality.
Addressing the Daily Express and other media at an Emmerdale press gathering, he stated: “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.
During the summer of 2005, Jeff tied the knot with Zoe Henry, who portrays Rhona Goskirk on the ITV soap, at the historic Hedingham Castle, near Sudbury, East Anglia, followed by a reception at the luxury Swan Hotel in Lavenham.
According to reports, numerous Emmerdale stars attended the ceremony, including Charity Dingle star Emma Atkins, and Charley Webb, who portrayed Debbie Dingle.
The pair went on to have daughter Violet Ava in 2005, and son Stan in 2008. To help them navigate the early stages of parenthood, Emmerdale bosses made sure Cain and Rhona’s storylines were shot at different times, enabling them to juggle childcare responsibilities.
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.”
Zoe and Jeff initially met at drama school, where they quickly developed a strong connection. “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 opened up about his initial meeting with Zoe, confessing 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.”
As their romance blossomed, Jeff popped the question to Zoe straight after her Best Actress in a Leading Role victory 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.
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