Emmerdale’s Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) is a tough cookie but even she has her limits.
She’s seen off brain cancer, deals with most altercations with a slap or a Glasgow Kiss, and valiantly took on the Tates to protect her farm land, but having her hopes raised and dashed is what will break her.
She’s coping quite well in prison all things considered, having already found herself an enemy, yet she’s more worried about husband Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) than herself. She can tell he’s keeping a secret, she just doesn’t know what. But she’s kept going by the knowledge she’s innocent and that the truth will surely out.
This is where the hope crushing comes in.
Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) is key to Moira’s freedom, having been a slave to one of the people Moira is supposed to have killed. He also killed the other slave master with his own bare hands. These details could set Moira free.
Cain learns that Bear has done the right thing and confessed to killing Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) and now Cain fully believes it won’t be long before Moira is walking back through their door.
With this mood boost, Cain now feels ready to tell Moira about his sickness, but their moment is interrupted when there’s a set-to between two prisoners. Cain decides not to go with the news he has an aggressive cancer, the treatment for which will leave him with life-long debilitating side effects. Instead tells her about Bear’s confession.
Moira can see it’s a pretty thin, but it’s hope nonetheless and indulges Cain that it is a little bit of light in their darkness. Something in her wants to believe this could be just what they need.
But before Moira can allow herself to get her hopes up, she finds out that Cain pushed Bear, a fragile old man, into confessing.
And then comes the kicker – his confession doesn’t help her case at all.
She doesn’t get angry, instead she senses something is up with Cain and encourages him to tell her what. He refuses, and heads home, leaving Moira to cope with the aftereffects of the emotional rollercoaster alone.
Once home, Cain finds Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) sat on his sofa.
Hitting boiling point, Cain grabs Joe by the collar forcing Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) to step in and save the Tate, or rather save Cain from doing something stupid. Joe can see that Cain is weak and right where he wants him.
Matty says the words Cain doesn’t want to hear – that he needs to stop pushing everyone away and instead focus on Moira.
