Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley's shocked reaction to Cain and Moira's relationship | Television and radio

Natalie Robb revealed that her co-star Jeff Hordley wasn’t too keen on the idea of their characters becoming an item in Emmerdale.

Cain and Moira Dingle are one of the soap’s biggest success stories, having been married for ten years. Despite their countless ups and downs, the couple always seems to find their way back to each other.

Natalie, 49, who first appeared as Moira in 2009, opened up about the close friendship she shares with Jeff, who has played Cain since 2000.

“I think Moira and Cain have great chemistry on screen,” Natalie told Express.co.uk and other press exclusively.

“He’s like my best friend, so it’s strange how things can happen on screen. But there’s something about them that really works.”

The actress recalled the moment she was told Cain and Moira would eventually end up in a relationship.

The soap star said: “I remember we were doing a scene in the pub and I was happily married to John Barton (James Thornton), but there was just a look between Cain and Moira and Gavin Blythe said, ‘Right. I’m going to bring the two together.”

Natalie revealed that Jeff was told the same thing, but wasn’t sure because he “didn’t like change”.

She continued: “But it’s turned out great and the longevity of it, we’ve been married for years so it’s not bad. We’ve threatened divorce twice but we haven’t quite succeeded either.”

Their relationship has come under renewed strain in recent months after Moira was diagnosed with a brain tumor, with Cain left terrified at the prospect of losing his wife.

“Moira and Cain are both terrified,” Natalie explained. “He’s really afraid of losing her, so I can say that on his behalf.”

However, since Cain can’t handle the situation, Natalie teased that he will probably do something erratic.

She continued, “Then Cain does things that are out of his control because he has no control over the situation.”

However, despite their current problems, Natalie shared her hope that the couple would not fall apart and would fight for their marriage, adding: ‘I think it’s very important that they stay together.

“Marriages go through things, there’s temptation, there’s things that can happen. If everyone just gave up after the first hurdle, people wouldn’t be getting married right now.”